Flamboyantly Silent
by xDelfin
Summary: xDelfin: The cracks are there. They're small. But like in a windshield, they only get bigger. And the faster you drive, the faster they grow. All Axel, Roxas, Sora, Riku, Cloud, and Leon know... is that it hurts. So much. AkuRoku main. Rated M. ξήζσγ
1. I' Family Matters: Roxas

_**Thursday**_

_**1.**_

He slammed his fist into the wall. "Damn it!" His face was flushed, his breathing, erratic. He couldn't take it anymore. The boy paced around the room, his blue eyes blinded with rage. He threw anything and everything within arm's reach: CDs were scattered, mirrors were cracked, books were ripped apart, and walls were indented. "Son of a…-punch- BITCH!" The teen screamed out of pure frustration into his room.

Not long after, another blond, taller, older and just as cross, appeared in his vicinity, throwing open the door. "ROXAS!" Similar blue eyes glared at the distressed boy. "Stop fucking around and STOP destroying my house!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE ME BACK THERE. _EVER_!"

"WELL WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?" The older man shouted back. He was just as fed up with him, as Roxas was with their current situation. "You _lounge_ here all day claiming to be in pain. You haven't gone to school in three fucking WEEKS. TELL ME WHAT ELSE I SHOULD DO!"

The younger boy was livid. He scowled so intensely at Cloud, mostly out of anger; however, he could not suppress another ache in his abdomen. "I don't know what to do either," he bit out. "But I'm tired of going back there!"

It was always the same. Roxas would be driven miles and miles away to the Urgent Care Centre where they would ask him what pains he was feeling, type in all of his information, examine his health card, give him a stupid laminated bracelet to wear then print out and give him the information chart. Then they would send him through the white, metallic double doors that might as well be to a submarine.

Once through those doors, he would hand the charts to one of the people at the desks and they would tell him to strip into those paper-thin, barely-staying-closed-by-a-string gown, and wait for a doctor to see him.

This process would have already taken around two hours thus far. Waiting for the doctor would then take _at least_ another forty minutes to an hour, depending on how many other poor sobs came in that day. Then finally, when the old man with a lab coat, purple fanny pack and over-sized spectacles would arrive, he would further ask Roxas what kinds of pains he was experiencing.

And no matter how much he expressed his utter abhorrence and frustration to the severity of his ailments, they would conclude that this was no more than a tummy ache, head ache or muscle pain and that he should take Advil, Tylenol or MIDOL. "EVERY. FUCKING. TIME. I'm sick of it!" Five hours later, clothes taken off and put back on, a lot of unwanted moving around, walking, _waiting_, a handful of idiot doctors to talk with, two orange tablets and a cup of water later... Roxas endured a quiet ride home in exactly the same amount of pain he was in before. This time, he was more aggravated and had fifteen years shaved off his life.

"I don't know what's wrong with you; the doctors don't know what's wrong with you. What do you want to HAPPEN?"

"I WANT THIS TO _STOP_! YOU'RE MY FATHER, CLOUD. YOU'RE _SUPPOSED_ TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH ME!" Roxas screamed the last bit with all the strength his lungs could produce. This left him panting and tipping towards the wall to aid him in his attempt to remain upright. Cloud stepped forward to help support him but was rudely swatted away by the teen. "Don't touch me." he said rather weakly, sobbing barely noticeable.

Recently, Roxas had been calling Cloud by his name and referring to him a lot less by 'father' or 'dad.' While this didn't mean anything much since they were more like brothers anyway, Cloud couldn't help but feel that this was a variation of denial and rejection that he was indeed, this boy's father. However being presented to a jury was beside the point.

"Roxas." His voice regained the calm of its disposition. "Just calm down and go to sleep."

"I. CAN'T." he spat out. He was still weak but made sure his words and eyes still displayed all the malice inside. "Insomniac, remember?"

"Well then try. You'll feel better in the morning."

Roxas attacked the wall he'd been leaning on once more with the back of his balled up fist. "HAVE YOU NOT BEEN LISTENING TO ME THESE PAST THREE WEEKS? It's the WORST when I wake up. If I _bother_ to fall asleep, it's utterly INTOLERABLE the second I open my eyes!" Roxas really loved to emphasize his words.

Cloud looked down and gritted his teeth. He was already squeezing the frame of the door with his entire arm's strength. "Well I DON'T KNOW. Do whatever makes you feel better." And with a turn of his heel, he strode down the hall and down the stairs. Not before, however, he heard Roxas slam the door shut _then_ begin shouting his lungs out back to him.

"THAT'S RIGHT, JUST GIVE UP ON ME. YOU SAY YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ME BUT REALLY, YOU JUST DON'T GIVE A FUCK!" More objects could be heard colliding with the walls, along with some sobs. "YEAH, JUST GIVE UP AND WALK AWAY. WALK AWAY LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO. YOU REALLY SUCK AS A DAD, CLOUD!"

* * *

**_Disclaimer: I no own ;-; _**

**_Thank you to my lovely beta: LalaHachi :]_**  
**_And thank you readers. You've made it this far ~  
Sorry for all the caps. _**  
**_Leave a review !_**

**_xDelfin _**


	2. II' Family Matters: Cloud

_**2.**_

Even downstairs, the older blond could hear his son's tantrum. He strolled into the living room, massaging his temples, vehemently. The cherry hardwood floors did excellently to promote the shouting from the second floor to anywhere else in the house.

No lights were on except for the living room lamp that was constantly alit to ward off any burglary opportunities. The hall way was just as dark as the evening sky would allow. It was nearly ten o'clock on a Thursday night. Something should have happened by now…

Looking up, Cloud was half surprised to see the two other members of the house, sitting on the couch. One was holding onto the other, the former looking scared and seeming to almost be in tears, while the latter looking gravely concerned. "Sora," The older brunet softly tapped his son's shoulder. "Go to your room now." He obeyed him in silence and passed his other father with a glance. That's right. His husband picked up Sora from co-op and returned home around this time.

Once he heard the footsteps disappear behind the closing of a door, Cloud spoke up. "So, how much did you hear?"

"Bits and pieces." He tried to keep his voice as casual as possible. "Here and there."

"Basically, everything?

"Basically, yes."

He sighed deeply and scratched his head with irritation. "Well Leon, your son and I have quite a pair of pipes." Cloud crossed his muscular arms tightly and threatened the floor with fire. Leon leaned forward toward his elbow and pulled him closer to sit.

"You took him back to Urgent Care today, didn't you?" He rested his forehead in the crook of his husband's neck and embraced his waist.

"When I came home, I heard something upstairs. I found him in his room, kneeling down beside his bed and holding his stomach for dear life. His face was so pale and he was crying… so much." Cloud voice became softer as he trailed off. "He looked like he was in so much pain. I didn't know what else to do, Leon. Those damn doctors aren't any help." Leon stroked his arms from behind, at a loss of things to stay. Before he knew it, Cloud's shoulders began to tense even more and start to shake.

"Hey, Cloud… What-"

"He's right," He nodded in defeat. "I suck as a dad."

"You do NOT suck as a dad."

"Yes I do." He shook his head, disappointedly. "I'm his father." He dropped that last word with as much venom as Roxas had when relaying the fact. "I'm supposed to know what's wrong with my son."

"What, with the medical degree that you acquired a few weeks ago?"

"I should _know_ how to make him feel better. I should _know_ how to deal with this. I should not be failing as a parental figure!" Fat, juicy tears were leaking from his blue eyes. Leon kissed his forehead and wrapped his arms more tightly around the blond.

Cloud was not one to fall apart hopelessly. When Cloud was in pain, it was quiet; meaning utterly vicious inside. He wasn't crying out in despair; but his sanity was just as thin as when another person would. "Cloud," Leon lowered his voice to a more compassionate as well as serious tone. "Babe, listen to me." His head turned a fraction to look into the soothing, brown eyes. "You are nowhere near being a failed parental figure. Roxas would have to be escorted to jail for drug dealing, murder, terrorism, and in a plethora of other trouble. But even then, you would not have failed until he's in a body bag."

The blond laughed at the joking tone through his tearful presentation. "Also, you are handling this better than anyone I'd ever know. We didn't plan to have a child living in pain. Most parents would have already carted their children off to some pediatric institute. But not you;" He continued to rub the strong arms up and down, comfortingly. "You're keeping him here under your watchful eye. You're keeping him safe."

"Safe?" Cloud furrowed his brow. "We don't even know what wrong with him. What good is he under 'my watchful eye' if I can't do anything to stop it?" The man rose up sharply from his seat on the couch and marched towards the staircase, a protesting Leon at his heels. "For all we know, Roxas could be dying from the inside out!" He spat out turning his head, yet without making eye contact.

Upon arrival at the foot of the steps, the couple looked up to find their sons sitting with each other near the top. Leon was the first to speak. "Sora... Roxas..." The older of the twins had tears in his eyes as he looked down on his parents. He got up swiftly, the hurt on his visage ever more frenzied, and returned to his room. Beside Leon, Cloud had turned away from the rest of his family and retreated to the garage.

Roxas barely even looked at his other father, continuing to scowl at Cloud's retreating figure. He did this all the while returning to his own respective quarters. Leon was left in the foyer between the garage door and staircase. He rubbed his forehead in exasperation and paced around a while in a weary huff.

'Our family is not falling apart.'

* * *

The house was quiet. Roxas has desisted to demolish everything in sight and Cloud had been outside smoking for the past forty minutes. Sora was in his room, thinking just as much as Leon, who was now pacing up and down the kitchen, stiff drink at hand.

The only question to Leon was, 'which one first?' On the one hand, he could talk to Cloud and continue to consult what to do next about their children. But on the other hand, at the moment, Cloud had a lighter in his hands.

Leon could talk to Roxas. But he was much like his father. Ergo, tomorrow might be the better option, after he calmed down.

That meant one more person to converse with. The tall brunet climbed the stairs to his sweet little sunshine's room. The poor boy had received quite the shock tonight. A little father-son talk should do the trick.

Leon walked down the corridor to the second door off the stairs. He knocked softly, "Sora?" and entered the room. Inside were two people. One boy lying awake on the bed, and the other lying down beside him, head buried in his chest.

* * *

_**xDelfin**_


	3. III' Family Matters: Sora & Riku

_**3.**_

Sora slammed his bedroom door shut, grasping onto his head. Forgetting the fact that he and Roxas were twins, Sora could only imagine how much _Roxas'_ skull was hurting at the moment. Twin telepathy was not always such a cool phenomenon.

He collapsed on his twin-sized bed, tears dripping from his face and resting on his pillow. After a few moments of lying in a fetal position, the brunet was startled by a tap on his window. Blue eyes jerked up to see a boy literally outside his room.

He straightened up and strode over to the windowsill to let the boy in. "What are you doing here?" A gust of nightly air swept across Sora's face.

"Well a happy hello to you too." Riku smirked from a perched position atop an extending branch and clutched onto the window frames from support.

"Sorry." He shook his head. "Hi. So what are you doing here?"

"'Figured you might appreciate the company. Hey, do you mind?" He pointed inside Sora's room requesting entrance.

"Yeah, sorry, go ahead." Sora stepped aside to let him through. He was a little flustered at his neighbour's presence but chose to ignore it at this point in time. He could still feel that ache in the front of his head. It was a blunt pressure, mainly above his right eye. He jabbed the heel of his palm into that spot.

Riku flipped his long legs over the threshold, not quite so gracefully. "Yup, this is definitely more romantic in movies." Not that he was relating this to any kind of romantic movie gesture; both he and Sora ignored that. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Sora squinted his eyes in pain. It was throbbing against his skull and making him dizzy. He was never one with a high threshold for pain, so it wasn't surprising when he felt his eyes water with tears again. "No. I'm not okay." He threw his arms to his sides and began to pace around the length of his room.

"My head has been hurting for a couple of hours. I came home with my dad to hear Roxas and Cloud yelling over how Roxas hasn't been out of this house in three weeks except to go to the hospital –but even after that fact, apparently_ no one_ can figure out what the hell is wrong with him!" He said with an aftershock of surprise. "And I can physically _feel_ how bad this is hurting him and.. it's not fun." He died off at the end and panted since he had said all that in one breath. Sora could really talk a mile a minute when he needed to.

"And Cloud is stressed out of his mind and I know he's smoking again." He nodded his head in disappointment with his father. "He hasn't smoked in _years_. Not since before we were born, that's how long it's been!" He pointed at Riku at the fact before continuing to pace.

"But he's smoking now and he's in the garage a lot, and Roxas is yelling at him because he can't figure out what's wrong with his body and I know it's horrible to call your own father a 'failed parental figure' but he's hurting. He's in _pain_ and I can feel his pain and it's just a LOT of pain!" Frustration, angry, irritation. Everything was oozing out of the small boy.

Riku stopped staring at his friend. As he paused from walking around, the silveret grabbed a hold of Sora's shoulders, pulled him into a tight hug and began to sit them both on top of the bed. Sora continued his rant with a muffled voice from Riku's clavicle. "And I don't even feel everything thing he's feeling. I just started to feel this headache now and let me tell you: for the little time that I've been sharing this pain, it makes me want to smash my head in to a wall just to make it stop." Riku could feel Sora flailing his arms around the sides of their embracing figures.

"No wonder Roxas was throwing things around earlier. If this is what he's feeling, and more, then I can't blame him! No wonder he hasn't been eager to get out and about!" Sora's voice began to crack while Riku could feel his shirt getting damp. "I'm sitting here in less pain than my brother and it's unbearable."

Riku could barely hear Sora through the distorted words. Sora held on tighter. "They've done everything those stupid doctors have told him but nothing works. Advil Extra Strength? It barely cracks the shell to Roxas. But of course, they can't find anything physically wrong with him so they can't prescribe anything stronger. And it's just so stupid!"

Sora finished his speech and continued to cry into Riku's chest. Riku laid the boy down onto the pillows, continuing to support him. Fragile. Sora was very fragile at the moment. The older boy calmly shushed his best friend's cries and held his body closer all the while.

_Life really sucks when things happen that you just have no control over, no matter how affected you are._

It was a little while before Sora completely stopped crying. The two just lay there huddled together in Sora's room. Sora's head propped against Riku's chest, Riku's nose buried in brown, paopu-scented spikes.

Just when Riku thought Sora was fast asleep, so he might tuck Sora in and make his exit, he heard a small murmur. "Thank God you're here, Riku." He stared wide eyed at the boy speaking to him with closed eyes. "You were right about me appreciating the company."

'_Anytime Sor.' _He took another whiff of paopu. "I'm always right." Riku smirked as he felt Sora nuzzling (or just getting more _comfortable_) against his bosom.

Silence. More silence. Riku didn't know how long after that Sora finally did fall asleep. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear him _start_ to snore softly beside him. He felt indescribably sad for the boy. Family was not an easy thing to deal with. Not on top of everything he was feeling himself.

He could not for the life of him remember when he had been this comfortable before. He could spare a night to console his best friend, right?

Before he could decide for himself, a knock was heard on the door of Sora's room. _'Shit! Keep it cool, Riku.'_

* * *

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_**Teehee, Paopu = Herbal Essences' Newest Creation ~!**_

_**Your Humble Servant  
xDelfin **_


	4. IV' Family Matters: Cloud & Leon

_**4.**_

Riku looked from Leon to Sora then back up to Leon to indicate that he was asleep. Leon concluded that he had just gotten the boy to rest and by the look on his face (minus the nervousness), Riku was just as exhausted.

This was downright awkward. For the both of them. Leon had unsettled feelings concerning the silveret. He and Sora had been close friends in ninth grade. But lately he'd never seen them in such close proximity before, however, given the circumstances; it _might_ be as innocent as it looks.

'_I'm a father. I'm allowed to be concerned.'_ Leon couldn't help but be especially concerned when he glanced at the _open_ window of the _second floor_ bedroom. '_Our neighbour had decided to climb a tree tonight.'_

Riku looked at him anxiously. Was Leon going to scold him for 'breaking in'? Was he uncomfortable with him and Sora lying down, _horizontally_, together? Was he going to kick him out?

'_I'll deal with them in the morning.'_ The taller man walked over to the window, pulling it shut. He walked towards the door while speaking in a hushed tone. "Close the window on cold nights." And he turned off the light and closed the door quietly.

All the way back to his room, he tried to ignore the mental pestering. _'There is a boy under your roof, sleeping with your son.'_

'_I'm a COOL father.'_

* * *

Winter was over. However, spring was still clinging to the winter's chill during the early mornings and nights. The air was damp and foggy. Streetlights emitted a blurry incandescence to the roads below.

They lived in a cul de sac. Not an upper class establishment but not exactly 'the slums'. Poorly tended front yards and tattered looking driveways sat in a circle, mirroring the consensus of the neighbourhood. The house was walking distance to a few plazas and a mall, but far enough to be considered a quiet residential area.

Cloud watched the head lights of cars appear and disappear, from inside the open garage. He sat there leaning against the brick outer layer, cigarette balanced between his teeth. He lost count as to how many he'd consumed, although an empty pack save for two, gave him some indication.

Relaxation came with chain smoking. Or usually it did. The garage was his haven where he came to escape the rest of the world for a limited time only. It was where he imagined things differently and thought out ways to make things better in his life. He resealed the porch, fixed the garbage disposal and repainted the chipping front door after thinking in that garage.

But today, he felt no need. Why should he bust his ass trying to fix yet another problem? Roxas was smart enough, he was tough enough. Let him figure his own life out for a while. Roxas sure as hell didn't need Cloud.

The blond threw his cigarette butt into a nearby pop can and reached for another. Lighting it with his silver Zippo, he brought it to his lips and took that immaculate first drag. _Ahhh_. He rolled his neck to each side, hearing a few crackles coming along with it.

Roxas didn't need him anymore. He can live here for two years (until he's eighteen) and then he can go wherever the hell he wants to. Let's see how far that smart mouth of his will get him in life without his dad to look after him. From now on, basic minimum: Keep him alive. Provide him with food, give him clothes, maintain a roof over his thick head and that is IT.

Three weeks. This had gone on for three weeks, and Cloud was more than exhausted. Worrying about his son, trying to help only to fight with him afterwards? He never thought these teen angst years could come so quickly. The thought of just being the quiet, composed Cloud flew out the window when teenagers inhabited the house.

How he longed to be that man again. Cloud had changed over the years a great deal. He no longer ran from commitments he'd never made. But being his old passive/aggressive self did not mix with days of late. The fatherly instincts won't allow him to fully give up. He would never give up on his family.

He closed his eyes, craned his neck upwards towards the cloudy night sky and exhaled a lung full of smoke. A faint purr of an engine and the crushing of gravel were heard. A car door opened then closed. Cloud opened his eyes to the disturbance only to see his neighbour coming home from work.

Tall, muscular, broad chest. He hauled three grocery bags easily out of his car. Long strides matched long legs matched leather pants.

Cloud had only seen him in passing, and all times he had a cold, dull disposition. It was well in tune with his deep, yet smooth voice. Cloud watched as he made his way towards the walkway to the front door, the moon illuminating each strand of silver hair atop his head and pale porcelain accent of his skin. Sephiroth.

He must have felt the eyes on him, because as he unlocked the door, the silver-haired man turned his head directly to face Cloud. The smoker was surprised and blushed at the attention. Sephiroth held his gaze for longer than a simple glance.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips before he strode off into the darkness of his house. Even in his own territory, he displayed that of importance and authority. '_He must lead an organized and well-thought out life.'_ Cloud felt a twinge of jealousy. He was probably a strong enough father figure. Sephiroth had four kids. Word on the street was that he'd been widowed for the past thirteen or so years. Four sons and he's raised them all by himself?

Cloud contorted his face a fraction and finished the tobacco in his hand, yet instead of having the last in the pack, he decided, it might be time for bed. He disposed the butt and closed the garage door letting one more, cold breeze chill his face.

Entering the warmth of his house, he heard footsteps leading to Sora's room. He paid no mind to his husband for now and entered his own room. Cloud sat down on the edge of his bed and buried his face into his hands. They smelled of stale tobacco.

What was he going to do now? His life was spinning out of control. Family is supposed to be the most important thing in the world and his was falling apart at the seams. The blond's shoulders started to shake.

"Hey." A familiar voice pulled him from his self-wallow. Cloud looked at Leon but with no response and no life in his eyes. As if it was any other stranger who had walked through the door.

Leon looked at him with disappointment. The tobacco had infiltrated every fibre of Cloud's clothes, skin, hair, teeth, etc,. Of the twenty years that they had known each other and the nearly fifteen years they had been married, Leon had never had to tell Cloud to stop smoking. Cloud had always known that doing so with a house of kids was absolutely out of the question.

Now, however, his husband was 'preoccupied'. He had started again this week, but never had he reeked of cigarettes since before the twins were born. "You should take a shower." He said softly.

"What?" Cloud shot out in return.

"I don't want our kids to smell that." Again, calm, reserved, and letting Cloud know that he understood his irritation.

"'_Our kids'_?" He raised a blond eyebrow at the older man. "Since when is there an 'our kids'?" The shock in Leon's brown eyes could only be seen if you weren't Cloud at the moment. It was true, only Cloud was technically the twins' birth father, but Leon had been a father figure since they were one year olds. Leon was _dad._

Leon didn't respond, but kept his disappointed look at Cloud. The blond muttered a 'whatever' on his way to the bathroom. Leon looked at his husband's retreating figure with astonishment. How dare he pull that on him? They were just as much his kids as they shared genetic material with Cloud.

Fingers ran through brown hair in attempts to calm his nerves. Leon decided it was best to ignore any kinds of remarks directed in such a manner, and focus on keep his lover docile.

He lay on his side of the bed facing the opposite of Cloud's. After a while, the blond emerged from the bath, extinguished the light and lay beside him, keeping himself with a respectable distance between their backs. Leon stayed still the entire night, unbeknownst to Cloud that he knew he wasn't asleep either.

Even after a shower and a pack of smokes, Cloud could not find the repose. He was undeniably exhausted, but he wasn't _sleepy._ He fidgeted around, trying to find a more comfortable position, but could not. At last, he capitulated and rose from the bed, marching down the stairs to get a drink.

Leon looked to the doorway where a crack was illuminated by the hall night light. He rolled onto his back and sighed deeply, wracking his brain for what to do about his spouse and the rest if his family.

_**End of Thursday**_


	5. V' Fun in the Sun: Roxas

_**xDelfin**_

_**Sunday**_

_**5.**_

"NO!"

"YES!"

"I'M NOT GOING!"

"YES YOU ARE!"

"FUCK OFF!"

"YOU FUCK OFF!"

"I'M TRYING TO _SLEEP_ OFF!"

"Like _that _makes any sense!"

"It does when you're SLEEPING!"

"Oh come on! You're already awake anyway. GET UP!"

"LET GO!"

"GET UP!"

"LET GO!"

A large thud echoed throughout the house. Silence followed. Ear-splitting silence. Cloud sipped from his coffee mug that read _#1 Dad_ while Leon adjusted his grip on _The Sunday Star._

Five minutes later, Sora emerged from the stairs with a duffle bag on his shoulder. He wore white shorts and a bright yellow shirt. He fished out his rubber flip flops while hurling Roxas' everyday sneakers that he knew he'd wear.

Roxas unfolded his arms to put them on. He was clad in jeans that hung low around the waist yet were tight around the rear and knees. He also wore a black sleeveless shirt with a white hoodie on top. He was clearly not dressing for the occasion.

In his sunny disposition, Sora called over to his fathers in the kitchen. "I'm going to the beach and Roxas has sportingly agreed to accompany me!" Roxas pulled up his hood and scowled at Sora.

Cloud looked over his shoulder to his sons silently. He had no idea how to deal with Roxas anymore. Maybe a day with his brother would make him less… hostile.

Leon cleared his throat and turned a page of his newspaper. "Wear sunscreen."

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_**Not much of a chapter but whatever.  
It's been sushi-ed ^^**_

You know... if all you people who've story alerted  
just wanna review to say 'Hi,'  
I'd be okay with that x']

Open Question: If you wake up with a song in your head, does that mean you dreamt about it? 8O

_**YHS  
xDelfin **_


	6. VI' Fun in the Sun: Sora & Roxas

_**6.**_

"Remind me again why you dragged me here?" Roxas pointedly asked his brother while being pulled by the arm, out of the grassy areas and into sand.

"Becaaause… you've been in the house all bloody week and you desperately need some fresh O and vitamin D!" Sora readjusted his bag carrying towels and change of clothes as he and Roxas edged closer to the licking waves of the water. Roxas rolled his eyes at his brother's lame science jargon.

Gulls were gliding overhead and trying to nail some leftovers at the garbage cans nearby. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon, so all harmful sun rays had left their sentry towers. Sora lay some down towels for them to sit on, while Roxas quickly scoped the area.

"Hey, brother. Don't those people go to our school?" Sora looked up to see where Roxas was motioning to. A group of upperclassmen were several feet away from the twins. Five guys and a girl were playing volleyball. Not far from them, two other were talking amongst themselves; two rather large men were laying on the sand, tanning; one seemed to have brought along all his homework to do; one seemingly playing solitaire; and one sitting comfortably on a beach chair with an affixed umbrella, reading.

"Yeah, I've seen them around." Sora boldly stripped off his shorts to reveal his swimming trunks underneath, then crossed his arms at the hem of his shirt and pulled it straight off.

"Woah, can you not do that when I'm looking _right_ at you?" Roxas furrowed his brow.

Sora chuckled. "Why? Am I getting you hot?" The blond scoffed, blue eyes darting anywhere else. "Besides, it's exactly what _you_ see in the mirror anyways."

Roxas tipped his head to the side with a look that said 'yeah right.' "Please! I have way more muscle than you, twiglet. I _am_ the younger one!" He crossed his arms and smirked with triumph, for Sora knew that it was scientific fact that the second twin is always 'bigger'.

"Sure," Sora replied, sarcastically. "That stuff underneath your arms isn't muscle, _fat boy_! It's all that junk you eat." He prodded his brother's bicep; relegation dripping from his eyes.

Roxas swiftly threw off his black wife beater. He pointed to Sora's nose making the brunet cross his eyes. "Maybe you have more _arms_, but I have more _abs_!" He proudly put his hand on his hip and pointed towards his flexing stomach. Despite how scrawny he looked, upon closer inspection you'd see lines of a slowly forming six-pack.

It was Sora's turn to boast. "Oh please! That is nothing compared to this!"

The twins argued over their physique for a good ten minutes until a light feminine voice giggled behind Roxas saying, "You're _both_ flat like a Ken doll!" Roxas whipped his head around while his brother looked over his shoulder. "Hey guys." Xion smiled sweetly, the tip of a blue popsicle between her pink lips.

"Hey Xion." Sora said politely. They were in the same math class and had lockers relatively close by each other ('Strife' and 'Stone'), but he had never seen her outside school hours before. She had white, round sunglasses balanced atop her black hair, and she wore a black one piece suit and pink flip flops. Sora briefly noticed all this while Roxas was focused on something else.

Xion seemed to have read the blond's mind, because she giggled at the dazed look in his face and took her arm from behind her slim back and held something infront of his face. Extra saliva formed behind his bottom teeth. Roxas' eyes widened. "For me?" He said cautiously as if it was too good to be true.

"If you want…" she said casually while shrugging, waving the popsicle stick back and forth like a pendulum. Roxas broke into a smile, took Xion's face in one hand and kissed her hard and full on the cheek. And then quickly snatched the sea-salt ice cream from her fingers. If only there was a chance that Roxas was straight…that might have been weird. But alas, Xion thought him too cute for words.

The three then sat together in front of the waters, looking out into the horizon. Sora sat in the middle of Roxas and Xion, wearing only his swim trunks. (As opposed to Roxas who decided to stop undressing at his low-rise jeans.) He dug into his bag and pulled out a bottle of Coppertone. He looked to the side to see Roxas pouting over a lonely popsicle stick. "Hey Casper, you should cover up." And the passed him the bottle.

"My skin isn't as sensitive as yours, you toddler. Besides, wasn't it you who said I needed vitamin D?" Roxas cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, vitamin D. Not skin cancer. I don't wanna look like a cowboy when _I_ grow up." He said, knowingly, still motioning to the bottle. Roxas snorted and pulled out his sunglasses.

Xion looked at the two. "Do you guys always argue, like this?" She was answered by a simultaneous and passive 'yes' from both of them. "Ahh, twins." Xion said calmly and looked back towards the water.

Suddenly, a volley ball landed next to Roxas. He ignored it and turned to Sora. "See, that's what I hate about beaches: they're always crowded and people are always getting in your way." Sora looked around at the throng of people in their area of the beach. An old woman watching her grandchildren make a sandcastle, a few little girls collecting rocks by the shore, a couple here and there sun bathing.

A boy called over to Roxas. "Hey throw it back!"

"NO!" Roxas spat over his shoulder, not looking at him. Had he, though, he would have noticed that it was Riku with all of his senior-class friends. A couple of 'what the hells' were issued from a redhead and a guy with an eye-patch.

A blond girl looked over impatiently, from the redhead's and silveret's side of the net while on the other side stood a guy with girlishly pink hair to match his flower-print Speedos, the pirate and a …hippie? (He had a bizarre combustion of mullet and mohawk attached to his head.) Said hippie looked at the silveret and shrugged his shoulders.

Sora sighed as he finished spreading sunscreen over his chest, glancing back at Riku when he called out again. "Hey! I need my ball!" Roxas was donning sunglasses, but a very bright scowl could probably still be seen from fifty miles in any direction.

"YOU NEED A COUPLE OF THEM!"

The blond girl cackled manically. Riku's two teammates held their stomachs with laughter. Even emo-reading-dude looked up from his novel, smirking, to see an annoyed silver-haired teen crossing his arms over his chest like a child.

Sora playfully knocked on his brother's shoulder a bit before skirting around him to throw the ball, sinewy arms lobbing the ball right to Riku. "Ignore him. He's like that."

Riku was taken aback by the power of the throw. He nonetheless clutched it and nodded back to the brunet. "Thanks Sor'! Nice arm!"

Sora wiped his hands of the sand. "Thanks!" He received a flash of a smile from the silveret before he reluctantly went back to his group. Sora returned to his spot, extending his cream-coloured legs and resting on his elbows. He pondered on the last time he and Riku has spoken. _'Not since last week.'_

Roxas blissfully looked out into the waves while letting the gentle breeze glide through his golden locks. Sora and Xion were startled by a new voice a few ways from the volleyball game. "Hey Xion! I don't get number four!" The guy with his nose in a calculus textbook waved her over. Sora looked questionably at the girl.

"That's Vexen. He tutors me in chem and bio but since he sucks at math, that's where my expertise lie!" She smiled proudly. Although Vexen was a year older than both of them, Xion _was_ the brightest girl in Advanced Functions, period 2. "Hey, you're pretty good at chapter 14. Why don't you come with?"

"Umm…" He looked at Roxas, debating whether to leave him for a while.

The blond just waved passively, still taken by the waves. "Go. Leave me in my solitude."

* * *

**__****_THANK YOU to all my lovely readers! _**  


**_YHS  
xDelfin _**


	7. VII' Fun in the Sun: Xion

_**7.**_

"Why are _you_ back?" A twelfth-grader with blue hair and an x-shaped scar on his face glowered scathingly at Xion. Although they had all arrived there together, he had hoped that she would just disappear into the mob of strangers around the beach.

Sora found himself getting angry very quickly. He had numerous things to retort with; however a guy with flames on his black swim trunks beat him to it. "Hey, Saix. Stuff it!" Red hair, green eyes and a little sweaty from playing volleyball, he knelt down beside the group and fished out a water bottle from a plastic cooler. While doing this he gave the offender, Saïx, a 'you're both my friends, but piss off' face.

"It's okay Axel, I'm sure that's where Xemnas 'comes in.'" She said playfully as people hooted and laughed in the background at such innuendos. She giggled as the built man behind Saix, Xemnas, flipped her off. "Come on, Sora."

Xion led Sora past Lexaeus and Xaldin sunbathing on their stomachs, past Luxord begging Zexion to play cards with him and settled to where the blond scrutinizing his notes was. "Hey Vexen, this is Sora. He's in my class." Sora waved and muttered a 'hey' but it went by unnoticed.

"Great, maybe he can figure this crap out." The two males perused the question at hand, while Xion looked around at the rest of the group.

She saw that the six 'athletes' had taken a little break and disbanded for now. Her friend Demyx, the tall, lanky blond with bubbles on his wetsuit, was attempting to sneak up on Zexion, the boy hiding behind a book and a curtain of slate hair. Demyx had his hands up in a claw-like manner and was ready to grab his victim's shoulders. All Zexion had to do was utter a "Nice try, Dem." and Demyx deflated, disappointedly.

"How'd you know I was there?" Zexion shuffled over in his beach chair under the big white umbrella. For Demyx to sit, of course.

"I saw you disappear from the group twenty seconds ago." He said passively and returned to his novel. "What else could you be doing?"

Demyx beamed at him. "So you _were_ watching me!" A small blush could be found formulating behind the tapestry of hair. Demyx didn't need an answer. "Aww Zexy ~." The blonde held the last vowel of the soubriquet while wrapping his long arms around Zexion's collar, closing his eyes and nuzzling into his cheek.

He sighed deeply, hiding the embarrassment of being discovered to be overprotective. He looked at the literary impediment in the form of Demyx with the shift of his eye. "You know you're the only one in the world who can call me that, right?"

"Of course! And I use it every time I remember that … ZEXY ~" He slackened his grip but nuzzled some more into those pale cheeks.

"Vicious circle." Zexion mumbled before turning his head to the side and catching Demyx's lips in one chaste kiss. It was soft, and light, like this very weather they were having. Gentle as the breeze that danced passed them.

Zexion always liked to know where Demyx was, even if he'd never tell him. Demyx smiled at the protective 'you're mine' gesture and reciprocated with another lip lock. This time, he felt Zexion's hands pressing the back of his head into him more. Demyx got as close as two people could get when sitting beside each other, clutching the back of Zexion's sweater with his finger. (Because only _Zexion_ would wear a sweater to the beach.)

Xion smiled at how the two seemed to be in their own little world at the moment. In fact, _everyone_ seemed to be in their own little world at the moment. As if on cue, Lexaeus and Xaldin simultaneously turned over to tan their fronts. Xion looked further down to see Larxene sitting with Marluxia, his arm holding her from behind as he pointed to something in the distance. Riku and Axel finally let Luxord have his way and were playing a game of crazy eights with Xigbar, Saix and Xemnas.

What a nice day to be at the beach.

She suddenly craved something to drink then excused herself from the world of math to get some juice. As she reached the cooler, she dug her hand through the ice to find a juice box. What could be better than Five Alive citrus to drink on a hot afternoon?

"Hey Xion! Who's your friend?" She turned around, straw in mouth, to find Xigbar motioning towards Sora and Vexen.

She swallowed and gasped because of the chugging she'd just done. "That's Sora. He goes to our school too. He's in my math class." She sat cross legged between Riku and Axel.

Axel had witnessed his impressive throw of the volleyball. "Kid play any sports?" He asked as Riku put down a two of hearts in front of Saix, who groaned and picked up two cards.

"Not professionally." Riku replied. He and the boy had played in the backyard and at the park a few times, but he had never tried out for any teams at school. It was always fun and games for Sora. "His brother is the more athletic one."

Two of clubs. Xemnas kept his poker face (or…regular face,) picked up four cards and laid down a two of diamonds for Xigbar. Picking up six, he threw down a two of spades in front of Luxord.

"He has a brother?" Axel asked, slightly interested.

"Yeah, his name is Roxas. He hasn't been in school for a while, though. He's right over there." Xion said as a matter of fact-ly and pointed over to the blonde where he was by himself, on his stomach, ankles crossed in the air and a book in front of his face.

"Woah…" Axel's eyes widened, looking back from Sora to Roxas. "Twincest...~" Xion choked on the last bit of juice in her box and chucked it at the redhead.

"Eww, Axel!"

"What?" He laughed. "I'm just speaking my mind…"

"And it just _happens _to be dirty." Luxord looked at Axel, all new eight cards in hand. He dropped a Queen of spades.

"DAMN IT!" Axel threw his cards into the middle of the group.

"Oh, you're just a big baby!" Luxord complained as the rest of the group followed suit.

* * *

_**Your Humble Servant**_

_**xDelfin **_


	8. VIII' Fun in the Sun: Riku & Sora

_**8.**_

"Whatever, I'm bored anyway." Riku stood up and stretched his shoulders. His muscles were well defined (let's not deny it) and his oh-so lightly sun-kissed skin shimmered in the daylight -a lovely contrast to his silver hair during the nighttime. His aquamarine eyes scanned his surroundings, and they just happened to stop on a certain brunet, not fifteen feet away.

Something about his neighbour was… intriguing. Three days ago, he had woken up in the clutches of the very boy he looked at. He recalled that moment for a while:

_He woke up at around 7:15. Rubbing his eyes to adjust to the unfamiliar source of light, he looked around the room and remembered the previous night: Sora had had a break down about his family and that led __'__comfort-Riku__'__ to take the reins. _

_Riku looked down to his chest to find a very composed, very tranquil Sora, fluttering his eyelids on the precipice of alertness. The younger boy was half on him, half off him, clutching Riku__'__s left shoulder. He knew he__'__d never find a more subtle opportunity than this, so his right arm cautiously drew up to Sora__'__s soft back and began to pet, ever-so lightly with his fingertips. _

_He inhaled Sora__'__s sweet scent with vitality, as if a drug to his morning sensitivity. Riku savoured this moment, for it was unknown when he would get this __'__excuse__'__ to be in such close quarters with his object of desire. My Desire. (He briefly cursed Yazoo for all those Victoria's Secret bottles he left out in the bathroom, with all their fascinating names.__) Riku was touching his body with his own and he nearly got chills. _

_He looked at the nightstand beside the bed. Large, red digits read 7:23. School was in less than an hour. But oh, did he want so much to stay like this for many more hours to come. To enjoy the sight of Sora__'__s serene expression; to lay under the very touch, weight, and warmth of his body was incredibly enticing. _

_Sora stirred. _

_He'd absolutely love to hear those small sounds all the livelong day! And that__'__s when it occurred to him. That was when his mind was _unwillingly_ thrown into the gutter. _

_Sora__'__s legs were intertwined with Riku__'__s, making a certain part of his anatomy rest near... a very similar part of Riku__'__s. He blushed at the thought. He blushed even harder when he finally noticed a little __'__activity__'__ began to __'_arise_.__'_

_Riku swallowed only to discover his throat had become dry. His attempts to calm his breathing were futile. He began to get a cold sweat from the situation mixed with the morning chill. _

_Grudgingly, he decided to wake his sleeping beauty. It was time for school. And school just always gets in the way._

It wasn't the fact that he was now seeing Sora half naked for the first time since they were scrawny freshmen that made Riku want to approach the boy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but no, it was definitely something else than what he was seeing now.

It was the way his deep blue eyes gleamed at him when he passed him in the halls. It was how cute he looked when he smiled back at him. It was all those times Riku had seen Sora in class or at his locker just being… normal.

Perhaps, more importantly, it was how Riku's blood suddenly began to pump faster at the thought (and up until three days ago, the very _touch_) of the boy.

He took a deep breath, made a fist and stepped forward with conviction. Sora was just getting up from sitting beside Vexen. "Thanks Sora!" The blond called overhead while writing his final answers.

"No problem." Sora turned around to see Riku approaching. His palms began to dampen instantly. His breath came in shallow and faster. He was now very aware that both he and the silverette before him were in swimming trunks…only. He swallowed. "Hey, Riku."

Riku cleared his throat to avoid any breaks in voice. "Hey. Spreading the academia?"

"Well, it will always astound me when someone that sleeps in the back of fifth period English, still manages to pull top marks." Sora laughed. Riku sat in the back left corner of the room next to the window, while Sora sat one desk forward and one desk to the right. And every time he looked back at the boy, he was always greeted by a pale face in silent serenity. The window brought in fair sunlight that bounced off each exposed curve of his fair skin.

The older boy chuckled at the praise. So he was memorable, eh? "Well, Jameson's got quite a soporific quality about her." 'Soporific.' They'd just learned that word last week in class.

"Oh yeah, if Shakespeare didn't already, she would." Sora rubbed the back of his head. Nervous habit. He looked around apprehensively while Riku could not keep his gaze from the more exposed view of the brunet's muscles. So lean, yet so strong… thus witnessed when throwing a volleyball.

Nervous silence. Should Riku ask him out? Or would it be too weird cause they'd been friends for a long time? Maybe he had waited too long and now all they could ever be was friends. But hold on a minute, Sora has never turned any of his motions away. He's certainly never given him any reason not to be asked out. Maybe. Riku snapped his fingers at his side a couple of times as a quench to the lack of movement.

"So, you hungry?" he tried to keep his tone nonchalant, casual; cool.

"Starving." Sora was surely in the mood to eat. Food or otherwise…

"How about I buy you lunch?" He flashed his signature smile that all the girls, guys (gay _or_ straight) would find irresistible. Sora was no exception.

"That sounds g—" But the acceptance was never uttered.

Sora just felt a splitting pain behind his right eye and up into his forehead. He gasped out, falling to one knee, while holding his forehead tightly.

Riku knelt on the sand as well. "Sora! What's wrong?" He wrapped an arm around Sora's crouched back. Sora's blue eyes were shut tight in pain.

"Head… hurts." He got out. He knew this feeling. He'd gotten the same one three days ago only this time it was much harsher. It was pressure, needles, digging into the inner lining of your skull and rubbing alcohol onto it. It was paper cuts and grapefruit juice. Sunburn and burpees. Skidding your knees on a gym floor. Barbed-wire-dental floss. Sucking on candy until your taste buds are all scratched up and swollen. It _hurt_. "Eughh..Sympathy pains?"

Riku furrowed his brows. "Roxas?" He looked over to where the blond was sitting. And alas, he was in a similar position: Hands grasping his head and face contorted with pain. Only instead of Riku keeping the Strife boy company, there was Axel.

_I__'__d be sympathetic too. _He sighed and helped Sora up and walked over to the redhead and blond. "Well that explains it."

* * *

_**EEE~ AkuRoku next chapter! **__**:D  
**__**Reviews are candy !**__**  
**_

_**YHS**_  
_**xDelfin**_


	9. IX' Fun in the Sun: Roxas & Axel

_**When the Card Game Ended on the Other Side of the Beach:**_

_**9.**_

Roxas was on his stomach, reading. The beach was a nice quiet, but not too quiet place to read. None of that echo-y feeling of a library; no teacher to scrutinize you in a classroom; and no dull silence that you can almost hear the particles in your brain jumping around in your room. Roxas found adequate light in the current position of the four o'clock sun. Everything was just fair.

Until Roxas sensed a mischievous will pulsating closer and closer to him. Five seconds later… "Hey there, blondie." Axel appeared beside him in all his too-cool-for-school glory.

Roxas tried to ignore him and focus on his reading. "Hi Axel."

"Have we met? I don't remember introducing myself."

"I'm not exactly staking my life on your recollection capacity." _'Just keep looking at the book…'_

"So, what? You've heard of me?"

"Always better to know of which direction the tornado is originating."

Interest piquing, "And what kind of things have you heard?"

"Well, Axel. Who could _not_ hear you laughing from all the way across the school? Who is the one, convoyed by his friends, who rearranged the skeletons in the science hallway in very lewd positions?" He saw Axel's smirk grew larger at that. "Who _else_ hangs out every other first period day in the bathroom smoking? And who is known around the school as the city bus?" Roxas fixed the redhead with a withering stare.

Axel stayed silent for a moment, taking in a rather fascinating summary of his reputation at school. "You left out the part about being the hot captain of the basketball team." He rested his cheek upon his hand and stared back at the boy, an 'I'm proud of it' face on.

"How could I forget? Axel Fair is the commanding officer of a bunch of sweaty guys who run around for balls, trying to score, and who take showers in the same room. Yeah, the imagery will be forever implanted in my brain." He nodded in assurance.

"There's only one ball and I see someone's got a very cynical impression of their adolescence." Axel loved to tease. Even when the person he's teasing throws fallacious judgements at him, Axel thought it'd be a good idea to let a few of them slide. Must be a way for little Roxas to vent.

"_My_ adolescence is probably just as shitty as any other persons is or has been." He fought desperately to focus on his reading material. He's read the first three sentences over and over without recollection of what it meant or what it was about!

"There are ways to relieve one's stress." The Axel-esque smirk came about. "I'm sure many guys with an adolescence came about a similar method."

What a pervert. He sat up, all intentions of reading lost, he leaned his neck backwards a few. "If this is going where I think this is going…"

"I'm talking about sports." He laughed. Roxas scowled. "Someone's got a dirty mind."

"Not a dirty mind, just an inkling as to what _else_ you would be talking about."

"Well I was talking about sports. A little birdie told me you're the athletic one in the family."

"Not exactly. Just between me and my brother, I'm the one who plays the commonly known sports. Sora likes to play 'let's see who can climb that tree faster' or 'I'll race you to the top of the jungle gym.'" Roxas looked towards the water as he spoke.

"You know some of the guys and I play a little b-ball. Just for a couple of hours after school for fun. You could come along." Axel was inviting him out play? Axel Fair, largest snorer in the back of the auditorium. Axel Fair, hot shot known to make out with the cheerleaders during the breaks of any basketball game. Axel Fair, won't look at you twice unless you're blond, leggy and have an alarming skin-to-clothes ratio –was _asking_ to see him again? There is something wrong with this picture.

Roxas' vision started to get a little hazy. It could be the sun or it could be the ravishing redhead in front of him. He tore his eyes away from the tempting face in front of him, in fear he would be cast under a spell that undeniably makes anyone submit to his wishes at the flash of a smile. Or he was just being friendly and wanted to check out his skills. He was the captain after all. But why him? Why the hell was this guy even talking to Roxas? What could he possibly want with him or with anyone except to get into their pa-… no. Was he…?

Everyone knew Roxas was gay. He'd been 'out' since the debacle with Namine, his 'girlfriend' as of nearly three months ago. (And by girlfriend, it means they held hands and ate lunch together). This was ridiculous. Roxas was clearly over-thinking this simple invitation to play _basketball_.

Besides, all of this could be analyzed at a later date. His head above his left eye began to throb, slightly. And that reminded him: Perhaps with all the physical impediments, he might not even see the light of day again, much less the faded chalk of the basket court behind the school.

"Umm. I guess that'd be…cool." He looked at those gemstones of green. So calm, so suave. He looked so comfortable. So much in fact that Roxas wanted to prolong this Zen feeling and accept. Something about them just made him want to. Or maybe the constant reoccurrence of pain finally made a swipe at his brain cells. "I'll see you there, then."

The second he finished the sentence, Roxas' head began to pierce. Pain. PAIN. He wove his fingers into blond hair and put pressure, to alleviate the tension, sadly without prevail. "Hey are you okay?" He saw a worried Axel through a clenched eyelid. He nodded quickly, though it was unconvincing.

The next thing he felt was a recognizably skinny arm wrapping around his shoulder. He unclenched an eyelid to confirm his suspicions. Sora was beside him holding his head with his left hand in the same manner.

"Goddamn it, Roxas. What do you do to make it stop?" Sora's voice was strained. Like he'd been biting down on his teeth for so long. It's like when you're walking in the cold and your ass is freezing that you naturally tighten your jaw muscles to resist the cold, even if it doesn't work. Then when you're finally out of the cold, you realize that your teeth and gums have been in the same position and stress, and it's really no fun.

"Umm…" The younger brother tried to get his train of thought to pump out the steam. What _did_ he do to make it stop? "I sleep." Oh yeah. Roxas took the easy way out. He'd tire himself out or if he already wasn't and lay down until he finally fell asleep. Being in pain all the time is tiring! But even if the mornings were the worst, these odd headaches were completely unbearable.

"Jesus Christ, Roxas. How much of a masochist are you?" It was Riku's voice. His figure was roughly in front of him, and somewhere close to Sora.

"Here." He felt a large hand opening the palm that wasn't welded to his head.

He looked at Axel. "What's this?" In his hand was a fat, clear, oval-shaped pill with the numbers 400 written on it.

"Just take it." Axel was serious. If Roxas had known him longer, this act may have been perceived as concerned. How refreshing to have someone other than your family to be concerned for your well-being.

"But mommy told me not to take anything from strangers." Roxas added hesitantly rocking the pill in his hand.

Head tilted, Riku raised an elegant silver eyebrow. "You've never lived with your mother."

"Well can't contend with cold hard facts!" He threw the pill into his mouth, as Sora dug for a water bottle from their bags.

Sora looked up to Axel. "What about me?" Sora was just in much pain as Roxas was. Why wasn't _he_ being handed a pill?

"Twins, right? So, you're just feeling what he's feeling."

Sora pouted. It still fricking hurt! "Hurry the hell up and get better, will ya?" He grumbled as he prodded the blond beside him. A ghost of a smile was etched on both their faces; they both understood the phenomenon of 'sympathy pains'. Sympathy did not go unnoticed when it came to Roxas' brother.

* * *

_**Tee-Hee~ 8D  
**__**Hurrah for angsty Roxas ~!**_  
_**Next chapter... the wheels are turning ;] **_  
_**Hope you like the story so far =3**_

_**YHS**_  
_**xDelfin **_


	10. X' Fun in the Sun: Riku, Unfortunately

_**10.**_

The threesome turned into the cul de sac at 9:34. Riku felt a spasm in the base of his spine elevate to the vale of his neck. The last time he was 'overdue' for Sephiroth's nine-thirty curfew on school nights, many of his vital organs were jeopardized.

Forget idle threats to detain phone, computer and TV privileges; Sephiroth, _ex-general_, portends a thinly-veiled summary about exactly what is to befall you. In retrospect, you realize that no man can ever carry out such deeds towards their own offspring; _however_ a register exists.

There is a particular moment in the 'reproach of the son time' when his father obtains a look. And when that look is double-parked across Sephiroth's face, you _know_ that he's hit that register and all hell is about to break loose –_unless_ you believe, for the time being, that your innards are _indeed_ in real danger. And being the accomplished father that the ex-general is, _he knows_ you know exactly when to shut up.

They have a very substantial relationship, Riku and Sephiroth.

Upon arrival to the houses, Roxas entered first, leaving Sora and Riku on the porch. "So I'll see you tomorrow?" Riku's hands took their places in their habitual pockets as he rocked back and forth, shrugging his shoulders as a sort of confirmation.

"Yeah, looks like it." Sora was so cute when he was nervous. He even did that thing where you bite the inner part of your lips out of tension and look anywhere else but your own eyes.

"Maybe we'll find some other time when I get to ask you out and you have the mental strength to say 'yes'." Teasing. He likes teasing. He likes teasing Sora. He likes teasing Sora when he's nervous. Did he ever notice how delectable the brunet was?

Sora laughed in an exhaled sort of way that wasn't unbecoming. "It depends. Can't promise anything." Riku could see a small blush forming at the tips of his cheeks.

Riku couldn't help but smile wider at the profound sight before him. "Good." He nodded. "It'll set me up for a more dramatic victory."

"And what? Am I to be construed as your trophy?" Sora raised his eyebrows with mock bewilderment. Riku said nothing in response. Sora was no _trophy_. However a mental image of the silveret on a hill holding a very large, shiny, golden trophy, waving his arms around in triumph came to mind. Perhaps after a significant rise in 'relationship exp' or so do the dating Sims call it. Sora widened his eyes at the silent confirmation. "The size of your ego…!"

Dirty joke opportunity? He had them lined up in his head. On a treadmill. Joining a conga line. With fruits on their heads. Like impatient children raising their hands in a classroom. Should he…should he… should he? Naw. Save it for a night with different circumstances.

_Riku briefly considered how much time he had been spending with Axel. _

Instead he laughed and said, "I'll see you tomorrow." He ended sweetly. But not too sweet! ('Cause that's not how Riku rolls!) He maintained his suave, 'I know what I'm doing by letting you see all this new found affection of mine.' "Good night."

"Goodnight, Riku." It's just lovely to hear you name spoken from another's lips, isn't it? One last flash of aquamarine eyes to deep cobalt ones and Riku crossed the lawn dividing their houses and very _carefully_ unlocked the front door.

He glanced at his wristwatch. 9:44. He needed to be very _quiet._ He saw the car keys on the half-wall. Sephiroth was definitely home. Riku slid off his shoes and placed them carefully in the closet. Socked feet slowly tip toed up three stairs.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion. It was faint but it was active. Riku looked around to register that only his father was home. His brothers haven't been home in weeks, being off at college. They would have their surprise visits, but presently, it was unlikely. The house would definitely be in an uproar if they were suddenly home. He heard the disturbance again. This time it was accompanied by a cry. It wasn't a sad cry, but it was definitely an _out_cry!

Riku continued another two steps out of the ten dividing the first from second floor. The racket was coming from his father's room. This was odd. Sephiroth never did anything _dynamic_ this time of night. He would do chores around the house and he would exercise, but not in the evening and certainly not in his room.

Riku vividly remembered his father explaining how a bedroom was designed for repose and tranquility (followed by several other convincing reasons to 'turn down the fucking music'). Sephiroth saying it eerily calm is what made the conversation most memorable.

One more vocal module and then it hit him; his father was having sex. He felt the aftershock of his dinner. The almighty ex-general was having sex under the same roof as his son.

…_Ewww!_

Any other reasons to be freaked out? And who was it? Hopefully no one he'd see in the morning. He just couldn't stomach it!

Riku skipped the rest of the steps, a little more confident the noise wouldn't contend with whatever his dad was hearing at the moment. Nonetheless, he cherished the ten glorious feet that stood between his room and his father's room. He shut the door softly and prepared to disappear until the light of a new day.

It was loud. _Were they doing it up against the wall?_ There was some serious transmitting of sound waves going on. Loud… Thumping…_moaning! _Just when he was about to bury his silver head into his pillow… "Seph..i..roth…"

His head froze, mid-burial.

Riku knew that voice. It was freakishly familiar. He unconsciously found himself craning his neck in the direction of the voices, across the length of his room. If not for his curiosity… This was strange. He heard another word, however not as coherent.

Once more. Riku squinted his eyes and leaned his left ear towards the wall, kneeling and using his hands for support. His brain tried to decipher all of this.

If you kept the vocal chords…

and you take away the euphoric spin…

and you add a little more anger…

_**and add a blond son…!**_

"Cloud!"

Riku fell off his bed. And not just because he heard his own father's orgasm.

_**End of Sunday**_

* * *

_**I had lots of fun writing this chapter! 8D**_

_**Your Humble Servant**_

_**xDelfin **_


	11. XI' BBall: Roxas

_**xDelfin**_

_**Wednesday**_

_**11.**_

Roxas stood in his foyer, two feet away from the front door. It was 2:35. School would be letting out in ten minutes. Should he go? Or should he stay? He was feeling better today. He woke up an hour or so ago, and he felt a little dizzy; But other than that, no piercing headaches or the need to trot back and forth to the bathroom to throw up.

Cloud would be home in three hours from work. He could make it back before then, if he wanted to. Or he could openly defy the old man altogether and stay out for as long as there were exciting things to do elsewhere. It really didn't matter to him.

Sora had 'work' as he did every other day, adhering to the day one/day two schedule of their non-semester school. Leon would pick him up at around 9:30 from the library, near the co-op placement, where Sora did homework for three hours.

For now, Roxas had the house to himself, whether he'd want to leave it or not. Going outside today was such an enticing opportunity. It was the fourth week in which he had missed school, not that he was worried about anything. It was more Cloud, yakking his ear off about it, even though Roxas knew nothing was happening while he was away.

That was the way his school ran. If Roxas had been attending classes, he would still be learning nothing, but forced to do work that practiced skills he already had and learned years before. There wasn't much learning done in school, rather than 'practicing and drilling', as Roxas liked to describe it.

For example, on the one day Roxas went, the English teacher made the class use twenty five vocabulary words in an original sentence for an _entire_ period. Roxas had finished in half an hour and dreamt about sleeping in his own bed for the other forty-five minutes left of the class.

So, here Roxas stood, between the stifling confines of his household and the open, airy emancipation.

_Axel is there. _

And Roxas stepped out the door.

* * *

The sounds of dribbling, scratching of loose gravel, and the shaking of the backboard and hoop, filled the burnt-orange court. It was a run-down sort of place that hadn't seemingly been cared for in years. The chalk was faded, the hoops were bare of their nets and were more oxide than iron.

That didn't stop the lively group of seniors to make it their prized after-school hang out. It was behind their school, which implied partial seclusion. It faced the west, so when they played until dusk, no shadows loomed over the fun. Also, it was next to the parking lot, meaning easy access to their cars.

Many others coveted this particular spot, but none dared to defy the basketball captain, the soccer captain, the bitchiest cheerleader, the neurotic debate team captain and the other renowned upperclassmen. Unbeknownst to Roxas, to be allowed into the court meant more than an outsider would think. But for someone so socially challenged as Roxas, an outsider he is.

The entire court was surrounded by a ten-foot tall cage. Inside was a row of benches, chipping at the parts meant to hold them together. Roxas noted the dilapidation of the court with astonishment. _This was their hangout?_ Roxas didn't believe much in teen royalty, but he expected the jock heroes of the school to have a better practice arena.

Inside the abode, were eight people; some interacting with each other, most in their own worlds. In the centre of the court, Roxas saw Riku, Demyx, and Xigbar playing basketball against Axel, Marluxia, and Lexaeus.

Out on the shabby bleachers, Zexion was reading, as usual; and not far from him Xion too was immersed in some sort of reading material. She tilted he large book up a smidge to reveal the words 'World Religions.' _Did that girl ever stop studying?_

Somewhere on the other side of the fence, Larxene was reclined and, if one can believe, was napping! Roxas was slightly unnerved at the sight. When you meet someone like Larxene, (even for the small amount of time Roxas has) you would not be surprised if the woman didn't sleep. And yet there she was, looking as peaceful as any normal human being. Roxas decided that this was just a ruse and that her guard was not _completely _down.

He leant on the side of the cage archway taking in the scene before him. Axel was dribbling the ball in place, his left arm out to block Riku's cover. He saw Marluxia from the corner of his eye, waving to be passed the ball. Just as he was about to lob the ball over Riku's left shoulder, Xigbar came in from Axel's right and stole the ball from under him.

Before Roxas could register this, the eye-patched man had already made his way to the end of the court and made a lay-up for winning points. "Ha! Nice one, Xiggy." Riku high fived the tall man with the ponytail then looked back at the redhead. "This proves my theory, that Axel has _no_ peripherals!"

"Are you stupid?" Axel laughed. "Of course I have peripherals! I wouldn't be playing b-ball for this long if I hadn't. It's this damn hair…" He grumbled while fetching his school bag for water.

"_Ahem?"_ Xigbar cocked an eyebrow, meaning he was about to state the obvious. "Hair ties aren't just for chicks, y'know."

"Well _duh._ But the last time I tied my hair back in public, all these stiffs in suits kept looking at me like I just dumped Tide in their coke." Axel shook his head. "It's dangerous to even _look_ like my bro."

Axel had a brother? Roxas made a mental note to learn more about the man.

"I'm TIRED!" Demyx all but collapsed onto the rickety mini-bleachers, an arm draped over his eyes to block out the fierce sunlight. Beside him sat Zexion, thoroughly immersed in yet another novel. He glanced sideways at the blond who was then dramatically fanning himself.

Riku cocked an eyebrow at the claim. "What do you mean, _you're 'tired'_? You barely played all day!"

"What are you talking about?" He cried indignantly, while propping himself up on his elbows. "I played hard!"

Riku crossed his arms. "You were standing around for the past fifteen minutes."

Demyx made a 'psh' sound as if telling someone who's never played basketball. "It's _caaalled_ getting _open._"

"Axel had the ball." Riku stated as a matter of fact-ly.

"So?" He asked innocently.

"You were on _my_ team…?" He stared at the silveret blankly. A snicker from behind Zexion's novel confirmed that this in fact was true. His mouth made an 'o' shape then gave an apologetic smile towards Riku, who just shook his head.

Roxas watched from the outskirts of the court as Riku cooled off in the center of the court, stretching his arms behind his head and bending his knees up in a relaxed manner. A few feet away, Marluxia was sitting cross-legged in front of his bag, an assortment of hairbrushes at his disposal. His girlfriend, Larxene, scrutinized him with one eye, in a sort of 'what the fuck do you need all of that shit for?' Marluxia seemed to have disturbed her from her after-school nap.

Xigbar too, was in the process of grooming. Was there a fashion thing nowadays? Long hair is _in_? Not that Roxas really paid any attention to what was _in_. His wardrobe consisted of selected hand-me-downs and gifts. And both his and Sora's hair have been defying gravity ever since they've _had_ hair!

Roxas was pulled out of his thoughts of the last time he went shopping, by a most entrancing sight.

Axel.

* * *

**_YHS_**

**_xDelfin _**


	12. XII' BBall: Roxas & Riku

_**12.**_

Axel taking off his shirt…

…Axel unscrewing his water bottle…

…And dousing himself from head to toe.

All manner of bodily fluids were escaping Roxas' face. Blood from his nose, sweat from his forehead, drool from his mouth– whatever. He watched as each drop of water dripped off the ends of his vermillion hair; how streaks of water were outlining each muscle in his arms, broad chest and toned stomach.

Roxas could feel himself melting as Axel shook his hair back and forth. He looked positively… immaculate at the moment and it was extremely hard to look at anything else. He probably wouldn't stop gawking if a meteor hit him.

"Roxas!" Was that a meteor already? He shot his head to the side. Oh no, it was just Xion, closing her religion studies and jogging over to him.

The gears in his head began to revive. Did anyone see him staring like an idiot before he looked away? –Nevermind that! Did _Axel_ see him staring like an idiot before he looked away? He prayed over and over in his mind as he said absently, "Hey Xion."

"Oh my gosh! I haven't seen you around here for a while." Her smile was sweet as always and her eyes seemed to sparkle with each word. "How've you been?"

"I've been fine." In actuality, his head was starting to ache from all the movement and direct sunlight, but it was bearable. "So what have you been up to?"

"Oh you know, Islamic test here, cosine law quiz there…" She trailed off into what other assignments where occupying her time. Of course. Apart from hanging around these people, she studies her cute little ass off. "…but then my lunch is right before English, so I can put it off 'til then." Her smile was proud and as sunny as Sora's.

Roxas suddenly felt a little worried. So Cloud wasn't exaggerating when he ranted about how much school he'd missed. Looks like a bunch of things were happening in his absence. Roxas had no doubts about being able to catch up. If need be, he'd just bullshit his way through everything and settle for a passable mark. He had done this many a time.

Sora had complained once: _You didn't even study and you got a higher mark than me! That's not fair. I went over this for hours!_ And it was true. Leon had also praised him by saying, _"If you studied and got a good mark, it's because you studied. If you didn't study and got a bad mark, it's because you didn't study. If you didn't study and got a good mark… you're smart."_ Roxas smiled at the memory, and began to calm his thoughts.

"You'll get everything done. If anyone can hack it, it's you." Roxas had never _not_ seen Xion without top marks. Roxas suddenly caught a scent of cinnamon and Old Spice. True enough, when he turned his head, a mass of red hair caught his attention.

"With that being said, you should take a breather and play basketball once in a while!" Axel playfully boxed Xion's shoulder and smiled at the two teens before him. Roxas couldn't help but feel nervous under that sly grin of his. Though it made him want to look away, he could not pry his gaze from those emerald eyes that were so enticing. He tried to distract himself with Xion.

"I'll play if Roxas plays!" She said happily.

Roxas jerked his head up. "Huh?" Xion tilted her head to motion to the court. "Oh… yeah. Sure."

"Great, let's go." Axel took one more side glance at the blond before he strode off to fetch the basketball. Roxas and Xion went over to the bleachers to discard their sweaters and to re-tie their shoes.

Xion was wearing black mini-shorts and a yellow, fitted tank top that brought out the blueness of her eyes. She clearly had a sense of style, whereas Roxas wore his plain, low-rise beige pants and a black wife-beater.

Axel called over to them. "Hey, hurry up!" Roxas saw him dribbling around Riku's head (who was still lying down in the toss up circle,) threatening him with a bloody nose if he didn't get up and play.

Soon everyone was assembled and the silveret grudgingly got to his feet. "Alright!" He looked over to Demyx, now draped over Zexion's lap. Zexion was scowling from behind _The Bell Jar_. If he would just stop wiggling! The blond yelped and desisted all movement as a hand swiftly made contact with his buttocks.

Axel looked over to Xigbar shooting empty pop cans down with a rubber band. Lexaeus was taking the fallen tin and flattening them between his palms.

On the edge of the cage, Marluxia was cautiously attempting to braid Larxene's hair. He barely grasped the strands of golden hair, as her eyes automatically scowled and Marluxia received a box to his face. No one disturbs Larxene when she's asleep! Alas, three seconds of whining, pouting and clutching his head, Larxene's glower faded as she sighed and held out her arms languidly to welcome her boyfriend's sorry embrace.

"I guess it's…" Axel paused. "Me and Xion against Riku and Roxas." Roxas looked to the older boy beside him as a sort of acknowledgement but received none back. Instead, the silveret walked over into position. Xion saw this and shrugged at the blond.

Riku crouched, hands on his knees from the middle line outside the center. "First to twenty, thirteen seconds per possession." Riku called out to mostly Xion, since this was the way he and Axel practiced. Also, thirteen second possessions made things go faster, and they had a smaller than normal court.

The redhead winked devilishly at Roxas before he threw the ball up infront of him and Xion. The game started with Xion in possession, dribbling in place behind Roxas, as Axel got clear of Riku. She made a high lob past Roxas and Axel jumped higher to catch.

He sprinted over to the net, Riku at his heels. The silveret jumped as the taller man made a shot, but it went in. Xion cheered while moving back into the center with Axel and Riku caught the ball and looking rather annoyed at it.

Was it just his imagination, or did Riku look… mad? At _him_? "Hey, sorry." For not covering Xion better, or… otherwise.

"Whatever." Riku shrugged casually and made a hard chest pass at the blond, while jogging out from behind the net. Roxas did a double take at the boy running past him before he continued to dribble down the length of the court.

Riku jostled around Xion's arms near the basket, as Roxas was approached by Axel. He matched him sidestep for sidestep, until Roxas was forced into a pivot on his left foot, Axel right behind him. Roxas' height was such a disadvantage at the moment, as he felt caged in. He heard his heartbeat growing louder as a warm breath snaked around his neck. He did not need to look at the redhead to know that he was smirking at how helpless he was.

Roxas' blood ran cold when his opponent whispered into his ear, "Thirteen seconds." Axel dropped his guard as did Xion.

"What?" He asked, still dazed.

"Thirteen seconds. Our ball!" Xion chirped as she playfully stole the ball from Roxas. He didn't even _see_ Riku's reaction to his blond moment (which was probably a better thing), as they immediately moved back into formation.

Half an hour later, Xion and Axel were wiping the floor with Riku and Roxas, nineteen to sixteen. The last shot had been a free throw, with which Xion had made a swish. "Alright Xion!" Axel patted her encouragingly. "One more point." He turned to Riku. "Ready to lose?" Cocky bastard.

Roxas dribbled the ball near his basket. Stepping past the line, he dodged around Xion, speedily dribbling into the other half of the court. Riku, coming from the other, waved his arms for the ball. The blond made a quick chest pass, seeing Axel not too far behind him.

Riku jumped, but collided with Axel's shoulder. His shot didn't follow through, but hit the front of the rim and back out… into Roxas' nose.

* * *

_**Oh, it's so just beginning  
**__**Hope you liked it :]**__**  
**_

_**YHS**_  
_**xDelfin **_


	13. XIII' BBall: Roxas & Xion

_**13.**_

The blond fell on his ass first then landed like a pancake. He pinched the tip of his nose, which was rapidly eliciting blood. "Oh shit," he heard someone say. A blunt sensation at the back of his head made him question if he landed like that or the fact that blood was dripping into his skull and making it heavier. He cracked an eye open, partially getting blinded by the 4 o'clock sun.

Riku, Xion, Axel and even Zexion were circled above him. "Ken-d sombwuan-d kwizth me in kaith I hafv a kunkusehon-d?"

He heard Xion. "Uhh… what are the six perfections that a Bodhisattva practices?"

That's easy. "Kifing, mowality, pascience, fikor, meditasehon-d and withdom-b." He answered immediately. "Ith dat wight?" Oh gross, he felt blood trickling into his ear.

"How should I know?" Roxas rolled his eyes at Xion. "I just told you we finished Islam!"

"You're fine." Zexion assured him, as he helped him up. The others remained crowding around him momentarily, as he made his way to the bleachers. He was vaguely aware of Axel's hand on his sweaty shoulder. Ew. Why did he have to touch him now? Thankfully, the blush on his face could be mistaken for blood.

Roxas sat little ways from a slumbering Demyx, Xion handing him a tissue. "Fank kew." After reassuring everyone that he was okay, Zexion returned to his reading, Axel and Riku decided to play a little one-on-one and he and Xion sat back to rest.

During their game, Xigbar had migrated to the bleachers three levels behind them, Lexaeus had silently gone home, and Larxene had fully woken up. Roxas noted the math textbook in her lap and the hastily written down answers in the adjacent notebook. Her other hand, surprisingly, was held onto by Marluxia, skilfully painting the white tipped fingernails (claws, whatever), and going over them in a pink/nude finish. Roxas momentarily questioned how he recognized that they were French tips.

As soon as he could somewhat breath through his nostrils again, he turned to Xion, who was watching the two boys on the court. "So what's been going on lately?"

"Nothing headline worthy." She replied impassively.

"Do you always hang out with…" Axel? "all the seniors?"

"Riku's not a senior." Miss.

"They all seem like really good friends." Roxas drawled.

"They are."

"So Marluxia and Larxene are together?"

"I wouldn't say 'together.' It's more like 'this is mine. And no one else can have any unless I get distribution rights.'" Yeah that sounded more like Larx.

"And Saix and Xemnas?"

"They don't show it, but you'd have to hang out with them a lot to know that they are."

"How long have Demyx and Zexion been together?"

Xion looked at him, with that knowing gaze. "Axel doesn't have a girlfriend or boyfriend. He has… dates. Escorts." Why was he not surprised? Of course Axel's that kind of guy. "Sorry, Rox." She added softly. "You're gonna have to do some serious digging before you can even see his heart." Sunk.

Roxas looked down in disappointment. Wait, why was he disappointed? He didn't want a boyfriend. "I'm not trying to make him mine." _I think._ "I just find him attractive… and,"

"And want to see if you can strike his fancy?" _God Xi, do you know everything?_ He sighed. "Oh Roxas, You'd better be careful." Her petite arm made its way around his back.

Curiosity piqued within him. "Why?"

"Because you're not as opaque as you think you are. I mean, you look like you're falling."

"That's an aggressive assumption." He reasoned. "I've only known him for three days."

"Roxas." There's that knowing look again! Xion's eyes were so blue, so fixated on the truth in his eyes. Even if he was too blind to see it himself. "I know you. You're _that kind _of guy." _What kind?_ "The kind that loves with all his heart. The kind that puts his everything into what's most important to him. The kind that's flattered by being noticed for being something special in a stranger's life."

Okay this was awkward. No one's ever analysed him like that. _Is it really true?_

"It's not a _bad_ thing. But it might hurt you with these kinds of people. They believe in one-night-stands and friends with benefits and sleeping with a bunch of strangers at the same time." Roxas looked at her in shock.

"Then why do you hang out with them?" The abovementioned traits were against Xion's morals as well as Roxas'.

The black-haired girl smiled sweetly. "Because essentially, they're all good people. They just happen to have different beliefs as I do. I still like them all. Even Saix!" _That's such a you-answer._

"Well, I don't know if I'm _falling_ for Axel. I just find him interesting." _Attractive_. "He's not like other people." _Dangerously attractive._

Xion laughed. "That's true. Axel is one of a kind." The pair watched as Axel held the basketball in the air, laughing, while Riku complained and tried to jump for it. "Maybe you guys'd make good friends. He does seem to have taken a liking towards you."

He inadvertently straightened up. "What? Did he say something?"

"Yeah." Roxas blinked, expectantly. "He asked you to play basketball." Roxas deflated.

"That's it? He asked you too, y'know."

"He asked you to come to this place and play in his court with his friends." She hinted the accentuation of 'his' in each point.

"That doesn't mean anything, Xi."

The girl looked at him with almost sad eyes. "Oh Roxas, you really _are_ socially challenged." He narrowed his eyes. "Well, whatever. Play it by ear. Hang out with him once in a while." She fully turned to face him. "Maybe I'm wrong."

Well, _that_ wasn't confusing. It takes a room full of scholars to figure out when Xion can be wrong. Axel and Riku approached the pair and Roxas' eyes widened at the sudden presence of the subject of their conversation. The two upperclassmen flopped down in exhaustion; Riku on the asphalt, Axel on the seat _right next to Roxas._

Xion smiled slyly at the two in close contact. "Hey Riku," The silveret looked up from his bag. "I have to go to the bathroom. Will you come with me? Cid might not let me in the building without you." Bravo, Xion. Drag the school janitor into this.

"Sure." He straightened up and walked toward the red-bricked building, leaving Roxas… alone… with a sweaty Axel.

* * *

_**Once again, thank you to my betas: kelseywazhere and LalaHachi :D**_

_**Hope you liked this chapter ~**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin**_


	14. XIV' BBall: Roxas & Axel

_**14.**_

Roxas watched Axel as he caught his breath and drank water. God how he'd love to be that cap. (It was the kind of bottle you pull, instead of twist to open.) "So…" He drawled but was cut off guard as Axel turned, giving him his full attention.

"So."

"So… what's up?" FACE-FRIKKING-PALM. _What's up? _What's up?_ Are you serious?_

"Eh... Nothing, how about you...?" _Oh God, way to start with the awkward…_He groaned.

"Nooooothing..." This wasn't turning out so hot.

"Okay..." Yay -insert conception of homosexual infant here-. _This is awful! I've barely talked to him one-on-one for two minutes and already we're running out of conversation. _He groaned again. Out of habit, he tucked his bottom lip under his teeth, wracking his brain for what to do next.

So he didn't quite follow when Axel spontaneously leaned over and pinched his cheek. "Aw, aren't you adorable?"

The surprised blond un-bit his lip to ask, "What the hell...?"

"You look like a little child!"

"Do not!" He cried and swatted the hand away. Thankfully, the blush _this time_ could be because of the aforementioned pinching. That did not, however, explain his other cheek… He _slooowlyy _rotated his neck.

"Nah, you're right... You're not innocent enough to be a child."

"Say what?" Roxas gaped.

"You heard me." He smirked slyly then his voice dropped about an octave lower -the octave that oozed egoism, cockiness, and sexual forwardness. "You're having naughty thoughts about me. You totally want this."

Roxas spluttered, but hoped it sounded more like an indifferent scoff. "What makes you think that?"

"You just can't get enough of me." Axel winked.

Roxas scoffed once more, hopefully keeping secret that Axel hit the nail on the head. "Whatever helps you sleep at night…Or in this case, whatever helps you get tired enough until you _pass out_."

Axel barked with laughter, to which Roxas couldn't help but smile at. _Oh God, I've got it bad…_ "You've got wit." Compliment? "I like that." _Is he trying to make me wet myself? _

_HAHA!_ –Inner victory dance–_ I knew my blue comments would come in handy one day ~ _"Interesting." The thread approaches the eye.

Axel noticed the pensive expression upon his face. "What're you thinking about?"

"I'm thinkin' about whether or not you'd like to see such wit again. On another occasion, perhaps." Wow, even Axel automatically noticed how obvious his intentions were. Roxas had said this pretty seriously with a sincere smile, but that didn't stop a grin from rising to the redhead's lips the second Roxas had uttered 'see' and 'again.'

_[I LAST TIME I FREAKED OUT, I KEPT ON LOOKIN' DOWN. I ST-T-TUTTERED WHEN YOU ASKED ME WHAT I'M THINKING 'BOUT. FELT LIKE I COULDN'T BREATHE. YOU ASKED WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME. MY BEST FRIEND LESLIE SAID, 'OH SHE'S JUST BEIN' MILEY.' THE NEXT TIME WE HANG OUT. I WILL REDEEM MYSELF. MY HEART CAN REST 'TIL THEN. OO-WOAH-OO-WOAH-OO-WOAH OH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.]_

Excuse him. He just had an all-out GAY moment, and mentally burst into song. The song choice was so not intended, but damn that it was catchy enough to be memorable.

"I wouldn't mind that." Axel's face softened. It was nice. "Listen, I've gotta get home," He said standing up. Roxas almost whined (almost out loud; he _did _and quite loudly, on the inside.)

"Wanna chill on Saturday?" Thread in the needle!

_Roxas smiled so brightly, Axel momentarily forgot that it was sunset._

"Sounds good to me." Smiles are so contagious. Even as he gave a nervous one, Roxas could convince himself that Axel brightened at that. God he was so nervous. This shouldn't be that easy, though he wasn't complaining. Axel just… stepped right in there! It's like when you know the toaster is going to pop up any second, but you're anticipating it so much that when it happens, you twitch/…jump.

"Umm, I have to warn you that," he scratched the back of his head, while scrutinizing the ground. Oh look, bubble-gum. "I'm kinda broke," he admitted. "Would it be cool if we stayed in? Watch a movie or… something." Oh he _definitely _wanted that 'something'. So much that he didn't even double think of how forward this was. Oh jeez, he just admitted he was poor. Why did he do that? Why?

To his delight, Axel just chuckled. To his chagrin, he also pinched his cheek again. "You're so adorable." He adjusted his backpack and stuck a hand in his pocket. "I'll be there at around noon, alright with you, princess?"

Roxas scowled/pouted. Either way, it supported Axel's perception of him. The senior just laughed and started for the parking lot.

It was safe to say that Roxas was love-drunk. He watched Axel go for about 5 seconds, until he called out, "Do you need my address?"

The tall boy turned around. "You're Riku's next door neighbour, right?"

Oh yeah. Quiet, embarrassed laughter arose from the blond. "Yeah…" _Hehe…shut up, Roxas. Shut up. _He gulped. Axel just gave a two-fingered salute and walked off once more.

Roxas sat cross-legged on the bleachers, just a little while longer.

He had a date.

Roxas Strife had a date with Axel Fair. That sounded good…

As he stared at the dirt in front of him, a goofy grin that would make Sora proud just could _not_ be held back.

_And that's when Axel passed by the court in his car._

_**End of Wednesday**_

* * *

_**So this part is done.  
Recommend this fic? xD**_

-POKES HEAD OUT OF YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN-

REVIEW. O-O

please? :D

_**Your Humble Servant  
xDelfin **_


	15. XV' Just Hang: Roxas & Sora

_**Saturday**_

_**15.**_

Roxas ran around frantically, the pink towel around his waist just barely keeping itself on the curve of his hip.

No, he didn't buy a pink towel. It was originally white but Roxas didn't notice his red thong stowed away with the rest of the white laundry load. …Okay, that made it sound worse. Sora gave it to him for their thirteenth birthday as a gag gift. However, when Leon wanted an explanation as to why his work shirts suddenly resembled cotton candy… that's where it was worse.

Anyway, Roxas skipped around from the drawers, to the closet, to the rack of articles hanging. "No." He threw a navy blue vest at the opposite wall. "No." He tossed a pair of white skinnies over his computer chair. _Grey sweatshirt? _"No." _Yellow tank top?_ "No! –What the hell?"

Roxas picked up a red and black rolled up bundle from the side of his bed. Shaking it straight, he exclaimed, "My Mickey Mouse boxers! I haven't seen these in like three years…" It was then that he felt a 'crusty' substance through the material. He let all but two fingers go. "Oh." He threw the pair at his door so he'd remember to put it in the laundry basket (that was in the bathroom, so all dirty clothes always littered themselves off to the side of the door before actually being thoroughly condemned).

"Hey, Roxas, what are you—HMK!" The blond spun around wildly, to come face-to-face with… his discarded boxers. And Sora …who also came face-to-face with the discarded boxers. And since the situation wasn't awkward enough, the pink towel finally decided to fall.

* * *

Sora heard the bathroom door open then close abruptly, and Roxas' little feet quickly pattering into the room adjacent his. He turned his attention back to his phone. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I asked if you were busy today." Riku's slender voice repeated.

"Oh, no. Not at all. Did you wanna do something?" A nervous sweat-drop trickled down the brunet's neck as he heard Riku's hoarse chuckle in response.

"Something like that." He said quietly.

Sora went all but giddy. "Shall I come over there?"

"NO!" Riku exclaimed, abandoning his soft composure, "I mean, why don't I come over to you?" The slyness of his speech returned. "We'd be alone, wouldn't we?"

How could Sora resist? "Yeah," he cleared his throat. "that'd be alright. My dads' are at work and won't be home 'til late."

_Unknown to Sora, Riku cringed making him unable to reply immediately._

Sora broke the silence. "Riku?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in twenty minutes?" The brunet boy couldn't stop smiling when uttering his acquiescence. When the two hung up, Sora all but squeed in delight, but was halted from his happy dance when he heard objects colliding with the wall next to him.

Items were definitely being tossed around, however, no such noises showed signs of rage or anguish to be considered part of a tantrum. Naturally, the older twin decided it was best to inspect what the hullabaloo was about. The brunet opened the door to his brother's room.

"Hey, Roxas, what are you –HMK!" Sora froze and unfortunately inhaled in surprise. He pried the garment from his head to see Roxas, naked and scrambling to retrieve the fallen towel. He looked at the underwear in question. "Roxas… why do your boxers smell like candy?"

* * *

_** Revie-HMK! x-x**_

_**YHS  
**__**xDelfin**__**  
**_


	16. XVI' Just Hang: F! Riku & Sephiroth

**Okay, one more because I love Kelsey :]  
I rather like this one ^^ **

_**16.**_

"Roxas… why do your boxers smell like candy?"

The blond in question, flushed slightly and didn't answer. He cleared his throat and continued his search for clothes as if the embarrassing question had not even been uttered.

With a "Ewww." Sora dropped them to the ground. Roxas was donning a clean pair when he spoke up. "Going out?" The way his brother was scrutinizing a tight, black pair of jeans made it look like he was going somewhere special.

Roxas hastily pulled the tight denim up to his knees. "No, Axel's coming over in like," He glanced at his iHome. "Ten minutes!" He freaked and left his pants at the curve of his ass, "Shit!" before dashing past a shell-shocked Sora and in the direction of their washroom.

The brunet spluttered and followed. When he got to the doorway before the white-tiles, Roxas was jamming his electric toothbrush around his mouth, threatening each gum with homicide. "You can't be here! Riku's coming over too!"

Roxas ceased all arm movement and turned his head up to see Sora's reflection in the mirror. Then, Oral-B still whirring around his teeth, he turned _eerily_ slow, to look at his twin. "Whaaa-zzzzz-t?"

"Riku's coming over to hang out with me." He stated matter of fact-ly and leant in to fix Roxas with a firm, blue stare. "ALONE."

"NO WAY!" Roxas spat (quite literally), and yanked the brush out. _ZZZZZ! _Sora grabbed his wrist and felt for the off button, while keeping his foamy face as far away from the sputtering device as his arm could reach. When it desisted, Sora dared to open an eye, and saw Roxas attempting to revert global warming with his stare. "Do you know… how lucky I am… to get him to come ALL THE WAY HERE?" He roared, effectively emptying the rest of the fluorine he had left.

Sora ducked at the beginning of 'HERE.' "Well, me too!" he complained. "Riku finally said that he wanted to spend time with me! HAVE YOU _SEEN_ HOW HOT HE'S GOTTEN SINCE _NINTH GRADE?__"_

"Why can't you go to _his_ house?"

Sora paused. Why didn't Riku want them to stay at his house? The brunet recalled how he _insisted_ they stay at Sora's. "I dunno…" Now that he thought about it, Riku acted strangely on the phone. "I think there's something going on with his dad." He said thoughtfully. "You know how they are."

* * *

**FLASH! _(AAAOHH!~)_**

_Sora had seen Sephiroth on a number of occasions in the past. When he and Riku were in grade school, they often studied in each other's houses. One day, while the two boys were in the __silveret's__ room, Sephiroth came home from work in a foul mood. The echoes of his sturdy footsteps could be heard through the walls and closed door. They got closer and closer until the closed door was no longer closed. _

_In walked Sephiroth, CEO suit and all, looking sternly at his son. __"__Riku,__"__ he said, stiffly. Young Riku looked back at his father with concern; a sort of __'__what did I do?__'__ look. _

"_Yes, Sir?__"__ he squeaked in his sixth-grade voice._

_Sephiroth__'__s gaze hardened (if that was at all possible). __"__Why don__'__t we leave our rollerblades at the bottom of the stairs? Or anywhere other than our closets?__"__'__We__'__ and __'__our__'__ made Sora almost snort at the sight of Sephiroth owning rollerblades. But he knew what was good for him, and kept to being invisible. _

_Twelve-year-old Sora then noticed the bright red pair of skates in the man__'__s hand. _

"_Because it__'__s dangerous and people could trip over them and get hurt.__"__ Riku spoke automatically, with a hint of remorse. Sephiroth set the skates down against the wall and turned to leave. (Sora was nearly surprised that he was capable of bending his back or knees.) _

"_You would do well to remember that. Next time, they__'__ll become shoes.__"__ And Riku__'__s father started__ down the hall for the staircase. Riku sighed and rose from the bed to close the door._

"_HAHA! RIKU GOT IN TROUBLE!__"_

"_Fuck off, Kadaj!__"__ He snarled from his doorway._

"_Riku!__"__ Sephiroth__'__s voice boomed from little past the top of the stairs._

"_Piss off?__"_

"_Better.__"__ And the eldest __silveret__ continued his descent, while Riku stuck his tongue out to Kadaj across the hallway. Sora watched, silently amused as Riku shut the door, put away his rollerblades and returned to his homework as if nothing had happened. _

**FLASH~! AAAOHHH! Savour of the universe!**

* * *

"Come on, Roxas! You gotta leave!" Sora pleaded.

"I can't, I'm broke! And I already hinted that we'd stay in today!" Roxas whined.

Sora pouted as his brother turned back to the sink and lifted the cup of water to his lips.

_**DING DONG. DING DONG.**  
_

Sora shrieked and Roxas spat into the mirror.

"SHIT!" They screamed in unison. Roxas forced his way out of the bathroom and Sora squeezed his body into the bathroom.

"What the _hell_ are you doing? _Get the door!_"

"I've got your oral bacteria in my hair! _YOU_ GET THE DOOR!"

"I'M HALF NAKED AT THE MOMENT!"

"_I__'__M_ STICKY AND MINTY AT THE MOMENT!"

"I'M SURE RIKU WOULDN'T MIND _THAT!_"

"AXEL WOULDN'T MIND _YOU _BEING HALF NAKED!"

Little did they know that Roxas had left his window ajar.

* * *

_**Teeheehee ~  
Oh this is just the beginning 8D**_

_**xDelfin **_


	17. XVII' Just Hang: Axel & Riku

_**17.**_

Axel looked at his reflection in the rear-view mirror of his black Volvo. _Still looking good._ He glanced at the time before turning the key back from ACC. 12:07. _Not bad._ He left the car at the curb and walked up the driveway. He was surprised when he heard shouting. "HAVE YOU SEEN HOW HOT HE'S GOTTEN SINCE NINTH GRADE?" _Sora? Who's he talking about?_

He paused in his trek up the brick-lined path to listen some more, when Riku stepped out of the next houses' front door. The junior looked annoyed, as he jammed his key into the brass lock. Scowling as he walked down the steps, Axel heard him grumbling to himself. "Fucking animals…"

"Who?"

Riku was startled as he looked up to a curious Axel. _Frick, um…_ "My pet dogs." _They were going AT it like dogs…_

"You got dogs? Cool! What are their names?"

"Uh," _Shit._ "Buster and Masamune." _Where did THAT come from?_

"Masamune as in the warrior?"

"Yeah, he's a tough little bastard." Riku grinned and ran a few fingers through his hair.

"Can I see them?" Axel stepped forward, towards the silveret's house.

"NO!" _Huh, Déjà-vu._ "They're not really mine. I'm watching them for a friend and their already getting antsy with just me and my dad being new people." He amended.

Axel shrugged and replied simply, "Alright." He took note of Riku's fresh appearance. "You look nice. Going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm spending the day with Sora."

Axel just smiled. "Heh, that explains the yelling."

"COME ON, ROXAS! YOU GOTTA LEAVE!"

"I CAN'T! I'M BROKE AND I ALREADY HINTED THAT WE'D STAY IN TODAY!"

Riku shook his head in ridiculousness and walked up the porch steps to ring the doorbell.

**-DING DONG-**

Axel warked like a chocobo. "That's _my_ move!"

**-DING DONG-**

Not long after they heard a 'SHIT!' did they hear more incoherent bickering. Axel and Riku stood on the cement porch for a good five minutes before two sets of thunder could be heard getting closer and closer to ground level.

The door snapped open. "Riku." Sora smiled excitedly and a little out of breath.

"Sora," the silveret greeted, a tad flirtatiously.

Sora's excitement wavered slightly, when his eyes fell on the senior standing beside his date. "Axel."

"Sora," the redhead greeted back just as politely and a little bemused. He and Riku flinched in surprise when Sora's form met the adjacent half wall with a comical 'splat.' The front door opened wider and Roxas retracted the offending hip.

"Axel," They both smirked friendlily.

"Blondie."

"Riku…" Roxas said hesitantly. _Seriously, what's his beef?_ The silveret didn't return the greeting, but kept his eyes fixed on Sora, who was more or less glaring at his brother from the corner of his eye.

"Why don't you come in?" The older twin motioned for Riku, in an abrupt change of spirit.

Roxas matched Sora's momentary scowl. "Yes, Axel. Why don't you come in?" The older two on the porch looked at each other in uncertainty. As if the identical plastic grins on the twins' faces was a foreshadowing of a house filled with horror. Nonetheless, Riku and Axel walked in, shed their shoes and were directed into the living room.

Looking behind his shoulder, Axel swore he saw an exchange of death glares and mouthed warnings of dismemberment. He'd never seen two seemingly sweet boys turn so poisonous on each other when they thought nobody was looking. He held his tongue and joined Riku on the other side of the couch. The silveret too, was at a loss of words, so when all four boys were together, a stale silence floated around them.

No one knew what to do. Both pairs knew of the original plan be alone, and both pairs were technically having their first date. Roxas and Riku turned their attention to various objects around the room, while Axel and Sora stared awkwardly at the popcorn, ceiling and floor. Riku focused on chewing his cherry Trident. Axel played with the loose threads on the knees of his jeans. Sora rocked back and forth on his socked feet. And Roxas twirled golden locks of damp hair.

_Oh. My. God._ They all thought.

Each passing tick of the wall-mounted clock egged them to say something; do something; anything! Axel inhaled… then exhaled with a small shake of his head. Sora looked at Riku's slouching form, swallowed, and looked away. Roxas opened his mouth but then his throat went completely dry.

_Oh. DEAR. God. _They all groaned.

All four boys recoiled when the cheery tune of the phone played. Sora, closest to the kitchen, sighed and went to answer it. Roxas chose this moment to clear his throat and take action, "I'm gonna get a drink. Axel, what do you drink?"

"Diet Coke?" He said, relieved. Silence and Axel do not go well together. Roxas simply nodded, spared one last uncertain glance at his neighbour and then joined his brother in the kitchen. Axel exhaled. "Well this is going great." He gave a thumbs-up to Riku.

"Best date of my life." The junior responded with just as much sarcasm. "By the way, how'd yours happen? You and Roxas met like, once. Am I right?"

Axel thought back. "Twice, actually; at the beach and after school that day."

"And you guys planned a date already? I didn't even know you were interested."

"Neither did I at first, but," The redhead looked in the direction of the kitchen. "Blondie's rather cute." He smiled. "And smart." _I'm thinkin' about whether or not you'd like to see such wit again. On another occasion, perhaps._ Axel softly chuckled at the memory. The way Roxas had looked so nervous _and_ confident. How Roxas had been when they were left alone. It was like he was flustered and pulling all kinds of emotions out at the same time. Like he didn't know how to act.

But most of all, Axel grinned as he recalled the sight he had seen when leaving the lot: Roxas hugging his knees to his chest; smiling like an idiot. It was unbearably cute and Axel thought of nothing else the whole ride home.

Riku closely studied his friend's face. "Watch it, Axel. Dealing with Roxas is a big deal." The redhead looked up at this. "He thinks a lot. Maybe too much. But you can't screw with him."

"What are you-?" Axel started but Sora and Roxas re-appeared in the living room, Roxas handing him a silver can. "Thanks." They both smiled at each other, then Roxas threw another silver can to Riku.

He caught it with his left then looked at it. "Raspberry?" He looked surprised at Roxas. "You remembered?" The blond just shrugged and grinned. "Thanks." Axel looked at this exchange but said nothing.

Sora shot fire at his brother and growled from the depths of his throat, but it was drowned out by the breaking of tabs from the two older boys. "So!" All heads shot towards his fake smile. "Uh… I'll go get snacks. Roxas," He fixed his twin with white fire. "Turn on the TV or something."

"Don't tell _me_ what to do." He grumbled, watching his brother disappear into the kitchen. Roxas was fishing the remote out of the cushions when Sora came back.

"Can someone help me with the top shelf?" The brunet said sheepishly.

"Can't you do _anything?_"

"I could if someone hadn't broken the footstool!"

"Who's the idiot who knocked me over?" His blue eyes widened as he craned his neck towards his brother. "HM? My _butt_ still hurts!" He pointed to his rear.

"I'll help you." The twins looked at Axel who had gotten up from the couch. He was clearly the tallest choice.

"Thank you, Axel." Roxas smiled. It soon faded when the two left him with Riku. _What do I do? _The blond sat on the floor, near Riku, his back resting on the couch. "So.. Riku. How are things?"

"Fine," came the clipped answer.

"How is your family?"

"They're fine."

"Greeaaat." He drawled off. Silence. Not this again.

Sora walked back into the living room, a tray of snacks in his hand. He stopped at the divide, Axel coming up beside him. They looked at Roxas on the ground, ankles crossed and knees pulled up to his chest. Riku had his eyes secured on the can of Lipton in both hands.

Axel leaned down to Sora, "Is it me, or did the penguins just march through here?"

Sora just nodded and continued into the room. "So, what are we watching?" He placed the tray on the coffee table off to the side of the couch.

Roxas, who just noticed the PVR had 'warmed up' asked aloud, "I dunno, what do you guys wanna watch?"

"Advent Children."

"Mimi wo Sumaseba."

Roxas started to pick up the control, but Sora had the other end. They exchanged glares.

"Axel said he wanted to watch _Advent Children_." Roxas hissed.

Sora clenched his teeth. "Riku said he wanted _Mimi wo Sumaseba_."

"Well too bad, we're watching _Final Fantasy_!"

"No, we're not. We're watching _Whisper of the Heart_!" The two were bickering 'animatedly,' so only Riku heard Axel say, "It doesn't really matter…" but the silveret just shrugged, obviously used to the bantering of the twins.

"I'm older; I get to decide what we're watching!" Sora tugged on the remote.

"By _thirteen minutes!_ That doesn't mean anything!" Roxas practically shrieked and pulled on the remote harder.

"Of course it does! It means you can watch what you want thirteen minutes after I'm done!"

"That makes no sense!"

"Your face makes no sense!"

Roxas readjusted his iron grip on the black apparatus and accidentally hit the OK button. Everybody looked as the TV flashed pink. "POWERPUFF GIRLS!" The Strife twins exclaimed happily. They sat side by side in front of the screen, Roxas on the left and Sora on the right and sang alternating lines.

Roxas, "Blossom, commander and the leader…"  
Sora, "…Bubbles, she is the joy and the laughter…"  
"…Buttercup, she's the toughest fighter…"  
"…Powerpuffs save the day..."

Axel and Riku watched in amazement as they sang each line perfectly, if not freakishly like the feminine artists. The brothers sang the next part together.

"Fighting crime, trying to save the world  
Here they come just in time, the Powerpuff Girls  
Fighting crime, trying to save the world  
Here they come just in time, the Powerpuff Girls  
Powerpuff!"

"Aww, it's over!" Sora whined and they both deflated.

Then the TV flashed blue, _'Sugar…' _and green._ 'Spice…'_

"Back-to-back episodes!" Roxas squealed and they high fived each other.

Tom Kenny's voice was too much like a wrestling announcer. Axel and Riku knew this as Sora and Roxas imitated the opening narration.  
"_Chemical X. –__**explosion**__–._"

Axel couldn't help but smile when the girls flew on screen and Sora copied each girl's tune... then the villains'. Riku's shoulders were shaking with laughter when Roxas joined in with the fast beat when the two sides were running towards each other.

And by the time the girls were atop a pile of beat up villains and "The Powerpuff Girls" were written in squished block letters across the screen, Axel and Riku sat beside the two boys on the floor, passing around snacks.

* * *

_**THUS CHAPTER SEVENTEEN WAS BORN!**_

_**USING HER AWESOME SUPER WRITING SKILLS  
XDELFIN HAS DEDICATED HER LIFE TO WRITING AKUROKU  
**__**AND A SIDE PAIRING OF SORIKU~!**_

_****_

LOL! oh geez xD

WHEE-HEE: Buster and Masamune ! 8D

Who knows what Riku's drinking? xD  
[It's like raspberry vodka in a can ~!]

_**xDelfin**_


	18. XVIII' Just Hang: Roxas & Axel

_**18.**_

Mojo-jojo put behind bars, Dee-Dee chased out of the lab and Jack getting one step closer to getting back to the past, Axel, Roxas, Sora and Riku all sat in the dark living room, plates of half-eaten pizza decorating the cherry hardwood floor. It was around seven-thirty and the foursome had endured less tension than earlier that day. Other than when they decided to play Mario Kart and Sora decided to dip his fingers in water and pretend to sneeze into Roxas' face to get first, things ran smoothly ~.

They were watching 'Back to the Future' and Marty had just crashed into the barn, when Sora yawned. He'd seen Marty realize he wasn't dreaming many times and wasn't too keen on watching it again. He looked at his can. "I'm getting more iced tea. Anyone want?" Mumbles of 'no' filtered the air and he stood up.

"Cook me popcorn." Roxas 'asked' from his position on his stomach.

"I'm not your bitch, bitch." Sora stepped on, instead of over, his brother's buttocks.

"Ughnn- you're freaking heavy! Do me a favour. _Cook_ the popcorn; don't eat any."

"Buddy, my foot almost got _lost_ in your ass; don't tell _me_ how to eat." Sora called from the kitchen.

"Whore."

"Skank."

Riku rose from his spot to follow Sora into the kitchen. Roxas saw him step over his legs, noting that he and Axel were alone. The redhead sat leaning back on the couch with his legs in front of him. _Sexy._ Roxas sat up to sit cross-legged beside the man.

He saw Axel keeping his eyes on the TV, and thought of ways to… 'break the ice' as they say. … … … Nothing came to mind.

Roxas started to fidget with the edge of his shirt. What to say. What to say. He had already gotten Axel to hang out with him. Why is talkingto him, except 'pass the chips' _so hard_? He groaned silently.

Axel saw the blond biting his lip again. They were alone, _that's why_. Axel smirked unnoticeably and kept watching Marty run around town. "I'm glad we got to do this today."

Roxas' head jerked at the sound of his voice. "Y-yeah." Did his voice just crack? "Me too." Better. They smiled and looked at each other. Roxas' breath hitched at the intensity in Axel's eyes. _So it wasn't just the sunset that day. His eyes really are that… captivating. _Roxas found himself leaning in, and if he wasn't totally delusional at the moment, so was Axel.

His heart pounded in his ears making all other sounds slowly turn to mute. His skin tingled as Roxas' body edged closer to his. What was this feeling? It was like the blond's very presence was washing over his senses. The purity in his eyes was cleansing his soul; ridding it of darkness and sin. It left him exhilarated. Liberated. It felt… good. So good, just to be near him. Axel wanted more. The heartbeat grew louder, and all he could focus on was Roxas. _Roxas is pure._ His mind whispered as his eyelids became heavy.

_**-CRASH-**_

The two in the living room snapped their heads towards the kitchen.

"NOOO~!" Sora had dropped to his knees on the grey-tiled floor. "MY WINNIE THE POOH GLASS!" He wailed. Riku knelt down beside him to help clean the glass fragments up, but Sora grabbed his shoulders and buried his face into his chest. "Wiku-hu-hu-hu…" he cried.

The silveret froze and looked down at the tuft of brown hair nuzzling at his neck, almost to confirm that this was happening. _Déjà vu._ He returned the embrace. "I'll buy you another one, Sor'." He rubbed the boy's back gently.

Sora raised his head to look at the silveret, "It's from a Disney store… in Anaheim!" and buried his tearful face in Riku's black vest once again.

Riku just smiled. "Well then we'll just have to go there together this summer, won't we?" He felt the shakes of Sora's shoulders desist. Big blue eyes looked up at his face.

"Are-are you serious?"

"Sure," he smiled, "If you want." Sora smiled so cheerfully and threw his arms around the silveret's neck to pull him into a hug. Riku laughed softly when he heard a muffled 'Thank you.. Riku.' He patted his back. "Come on, let's clean this up before you step in it." Sora rubbed his nose on his sleeve and fished out the dustpan from beneath the sink.

They've really found each other, haven't they? Roxas smirked. He looked back at Axel. The moment was gone; it would just be weird if they started up again. They laughed at each other nervously. "So, Axel, I hardly know anything about you." What a great thing to say, after you just tried to kiss him. Idiot.

"Oh really?" He quirked an eyebrow. "What about that dazzling biography you gave me at the beach? Sounds like you know me pretty well." He said sarcastically. Roxas felt bad. He had said those things just to get him to bugger off. There were some cool things he'd heard too! Like… Axel dumped lemonade crystals in all the hall fountains. That was cool. You didn't have to pay for a nice citrus-y drink in the middle of … winter. Hm. Or how about the time Axel leaked helium into the front office! The morning announcements that day were hilarious. O Canada was made it to the Alvin and the Chipmunks soundtrack. Yeah… the door _hadn't_ been left open, flooding the whole school with gas all day. And Roxas _hadn't _had a presentation to give that particular day either… Roxas shook his head at the memories.

"Tell me something." He said interestedly. "I heard you have a brother, is that true?"

Axel smirked. "Yeah. His name's Reno. He's twenty-two, lives downtown and drops by from time to time," he looked at the ceiling to think. "Got married two years ago?" His lips quirked to the side in thought. Roxas nodded. "Red hair, like me," he smiled devilishly at the blond. "'bout the same height," he shrugged. "Loud, obnoxious, annoying –you might like him."

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows at the last part. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, you're attracted to _me_, aren't you?" Axel looked at him innocently for a split second, and then smirked wildly at his reaction.

Roxas blushed profusely and laughed in lieu of thinking of what to say next. It was a lose/lose situation; ergo, laughter was best. "So, what about you?" Roxas pulled himself out of his thoughts.

"Well… you've already seen _Sora_." He rolled his eyes in the direction of the kitchen. What he expected to see was Sora brandishing a glass shard for his head. What he did _not_ expect was the brunet sitting on top of the grey counter, leaning down… and _kissing _Riku.

_Axel saw Roxas' blue eyes widen at the sight._

Riku was standing between Sora's legs. From his angle, Roxas categorized their kiss to be a mix of 'innocent' and 'making out.' Was that even possible? Their lips were moving slowly if at all but there was _definitely _tongue. They even had their hands on each other's faces! …_Why am I watching? _He turned on himself. _Maybe because Sora's got more experience than you and you haven't even gotten that far with ANYONE?_ Roxas felt himself get sad. 'Himself' was right.

Roxas suddenly groaned. "I eat cereal on that counter." Axel laughed.

"What kind?"

"Special K." Roxas grumbled, still looking at the pair exchange saliva with discomfort. He didn't notice Axel's laughter until it was too late. "I mean, Muslix." NO! "I mean, All-Bran!" NO! NO! "I mean—." Roxas buried his face in his hands as Axel erupted with more laughter. "Okay! I eat girly cereal! I'm watching my figure…"

Axel somewhat regained his composure. "Next time, am I going to see you twirling around in a bright red, A-line dress?" Roxas perked up at 'next time.' So this day _wasn't_ a total disaster.

"That depends," Ooh, 'flirty Roxas' was back. "How much do you like red?"

"Almost as much as I love blue." Roxas unconsciously made his eyes a little wider and a tad 'dreamier' at that moment. It made Axel smile.

"Good." He nearly whispered, not breaking the connection in their eyes. "I'll... remember that." He snuck a look at the man's pink lips. '_Like two pieces of candy waiting to be tasted.'_ Roxas wondered, _'what would he taste like? Only one way to find out…'_ He moved in but a millimetre…

…when a bucket of popcorn landed in his lap. And that's when the rest of his surroundings came back to knowledge. The TV was still playing, this house still had two other occupants, and one of those occupants was Sora. '_Sora…' _Roxas growled like a lesser demon at his brother as he sat down on his other side, his former dreamy eyes effectively replaced with lightning.

The brunet looked at him oddly, "What? I put white cheddar on it just like you like." Roxas threw a fluffy kernel at his brother's nose. _You couldn't have kept sucking face for two minutes?_ He complained to himself. And when he turned back, Axel was just watching the movie… and stealing his popcorn.

* * *

_**My Winnie the Pooh glass is my favourite drinking vessel! ^^  
YAY for SoRiku! 3**_

_**xDelfin **_


	19. XIX' Just Hang: Riku, Roxas & Poor Leon

_**19.**_

It was nine-fifteen when Cloud walked through the door. He was surprised to see a new face, along with Riku and his sons in the living room. All seemed to be asleep in front of the grey luminescence of the TV. The mess of pizza, pop cans and assorted DVD cases caused his brows to furrow. Shaking his head slightly, he didn't bother shedding his shoes and set off in the direction of the garage.

Riku reopened his eyes only to narrow them a sliver. _So Cloud, you _do _smoke after sex._ "Who was that?" It seemed it wasn't just Riku faking sleep. However, one look at the senior told him that he wasn't completely accurate. Emerald green eyes were open but reflected drowsiness.

"Sora's and Roxas' father. The great Cloud Strife."

"Oh," he nodded and stretched. "Man, I should go," Axel glanced at the digital display, "while I'm still alert."

"Need me to drive you?"

"How will _you_ get home?

"I dunno." Riku shrugged indifferently. "Walk?" He didn't mind staying out of the house while his father pretended that nothing happened.

Axel laughed, "Naw, man," and rubbed his eyes. Roxas was lying on the floor, limbs curled inward, next to Sora, whose position mirrored his brother's. Axel smiled at the innocent expression on Roxas' sleep-induced face. "God, he's so precious," he whispered.

"Axel," he spoke sternly. "Roxas is serious business. If you're just dicking around, find another 'blond-haired, blue eyed' character. You gotta mean it, Ax." The redhead looked at him, a little surprised, then chuckled softly, closing his eyes.

"Is that what you're doing with Sora?"

Riku looked at the slumbering lump of a Sora, leaning down to gently pet his hair. "Yeah."

"Riku, buddy, why are you so… cold to the kid?"

"What?"

"It's so obvious to everyone." Oh, he was talking about Roxas. He'd noticed his attitude toward the blond that did not transmit to Sora.

The silveret sighed. "I have my reasons."

"Whatever man." He held his hands up. "This is your issue." Axel yawned lengthily. "Okay, I really need to hit the road." Riku watched as his friend knelt down beside Roxas to give him a soft kiss on his forehead, and then make his way to the foyer. "Later, Riku."

Roxas stirred, but by the time he lifted his head, Axel had just closed the front door. "Where's Axel?" he asked Riku groggily.

"On his way to his car." Roxas woke up instantly and looked slightly panicked. Doubtfully, he looked down to Sora, as if struggling with himself.

"I'll take him to his room. Go…" He waved his hand, "have your moment." Roxas beamed but it was barely registered as he dashed for his shoes. He was out of the house in less than three seconds, throwing back a 'Thanks, Riku!' over his shoulder, that he did not notice Cloud coming out of the garage, looking at him interestedly.

Riku had picked up the brunet bridal style and was halfway up the stairs when Cloud appeared around the corner (that the stairs and entrance to the garage made) and went to the bathroom. Riku was back downstairs in five minutes, tidying up the living room. After quickly straightening up the couch, re-aligning the DVDs, and letting their plates soak in the kitchen sink, Riku got ready to leave.

Cloud came out of the bathroom, just as he slipped on one shoe. The man seemed to have noticed the clean state of his living room since he said, "Oh, thank you, Riku."

Riku, startled by the new presence, especially Cloud's, remained focused on taking the back of the shoe from under his heel. "No problem, sir." He heard Cloud approaching him.

"So, things are good?" Oh, here comes the small talk._ God they look so alike._

"Mhm." Eye contact remained between Riku and Nike. Next shoe.

"How's your family?" He snorted in his mind. _You should know _that_ better than me. _

"Fine." Riku shivered. _Déjà vu. _He hastily shrugged his jacket on and made for the front door.

"I hope you had fun today." Cloud said politely from behind.

"I had oodles of fun. Did _you_?" Riku didn't look back. He just walked faster to his own front door. Roxas and Leon on the pathway didn't appear in his peripheral vision.

_**Fifteen Minutes Earlier**_

"Thanks Riku!" Axel had just closed his door. Roxas jumped of the porch and flewdown the driveway as fast as he could in his 'just woken up state,' and _smoothly_ straightened up when he was in sight of the car. He knocked softly on the passenger side window.

Axel unrolled it. "What are you doing out? You'll get sick." Roxas realised he didn't have a jacket on.

"I'll be fine," he said, but Axel had already unlocked the door for him to enter.

Once he was inside, Axel spoke earnestly, "I had fun today."

Roxas smiled, "I'm glad."

"D'you come all the way out here just to hear that?"

"Maybe a little," he said coyly, "but you never gave me a proper goodnight."

Axel laughed, "You and Sora were just too cute to wake up." Roxas was even cuter now; in his car, the moonlight shining in from the skylight and creating a white halo around his blond locks. "Well," the redhead placed his hand on Roxas' from where it lay flat on the seat, "goodnight, Roxy."

The blond looked at their touching hands then to the eyes of the boy beside him. Axel started to rub it little, but Roxas just turned it over to interlace their fingers. "I thought I said a 'proper goodnight.'" He couldn't help the playfulness in his voice, but as he leaned in, Axel saw the real nervousness not-so hidden in his eyes. He showed it the most when his lips ghosted over Axel's. Roxas gulped before he closed the distance.

When that happened, Axel couldn't hold back everything he'd wanted since he'd first got a good look at the boy. He shut his eyes, immediately taking control. He couldn't stop the flood of lustful feelings from mingling with his lips. It felt like blood was pumping into his ears, making him deaf. With that, he was hyper-sensitive to the touch of the boy's lips, making him high.

Roxas' heart thrummed in his chest. Finally, after waiting … and it felt so _good_. He squeezed Axel's hand, goading him for more. The 'reply' came quickly, as Roxas felt himself being pushed back into his seat by the lips on him. Axel's free hand pinned him in the corner of his seat and window as the older boy grasped the handle above their heads.

The closeness was intoxicating. It made him shiver when their chests bumped. But the activity at his lips overwhelmed him that Roxas just kissed back, and let Axel have him as much as he wanted.

Axel reluctantly pulled away, his lips remaining parted as he inhaled deeply. Roxas' eyes fluttered open as if waking from a dream. (And kissing a sexy redhead was not that far off.) His body remained stark-still while he took several breaths to steady himself. Was he shaking? Axel watched him with a look that he couldn't properly decipher in this hazy state.

Sucking in a breath, he popped open the car door, "Well, goodnight!" and backed himself out into the cold night. As he closed it, he noticed something that made him smirk; they had fogged up the windows quite a bit.

Roxas uttered something that Axel couldn't hear. The window rolled down. "What?" he asked softly.

Roxas turned to face him with a more cheery smile. "I said, drive safe." The driver smiled and nodded in reply. He turned the key in the ignition and they both spared one last glance at each other before Roxas trekked up the driveway and Axel sped out of the cul de sac.

Leon started his own car, once he saw the black Volvo turn out of the mouth, and pulled up to the driveway. He got out and turned the corner towards the pathway when he saw Roxas. His son was leaning against the bricks, head down and staring at his shoes.

"Roxas?"

"Hey dad!" He greeted, astonishingly chipper. "How was work?"

"Just fine, son…" he replied guardedly. "How was _your_ day?"

"Same old, same old." Roxas grinned widely as they made their way up the porch steps. This was odd. _Roxas is using clichés, he's smiling like he slept with a hanger in his mouth… and he asked me how work was? _Something definitely happened earlier today. _And I think it has something to do with the owner of that black car._ Leon narrowed his eyes.

When the door opened, they saw Cloud staring, a little more widely than normal, at the wall. But when they walked it, it was instantly reverted to a normal expression. "Oh, you're home." He said to Leon, who grunted in reply.

Roxas seemed to have noticed the flicker in his eyes as well. "Um, 'night, dad," he said to Cloud as he passed him to go to his room.

Leon and Cloud were left in the foyer, the latter looking rather stiff and not looking at his husband. "Have you eaten yet?" Leon asked the blond.

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'll be up soon."

"Okay." Cloud didn't hesitate to climb the stairs after that.

When Leon entered the bedroom, Cloud was already tucked away. The man bent down by his lover's side, brushing away a few golden locks from his face. _Just took a shower._ Leon grimaced slightly at the thought of Cloud smoking again and sighed. "Cloud..." he whispered. The blond seemed to have felt the feather-like touch on his forehead, for he smiled faintly and hummed appreciatively. It almost startled Leon.

Not long after Leon had changed clothes and brush his teeth, did he join his husband in bed. He wrapped an arm around the slender waist and began to drift.

'_Perhaps things are alright after all…'_

_**End of Saturday.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Waaah Leon ;-;  
**__**Smoking isn't the only reason Cloud took a shower, isn't it? /3**_

_**-End of part four- Wheee ~!  
**_

_**THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS 8D  
AND THANK YOU THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS ^^  
I love you ALL~!**_

_**EXTRA-SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MY BETAS!  
You are the reason for my awesome reviews ^^  
(And for Kelsey, that ^ is also literally true xD)**_

_**This story has barely had its wheels leave the ground.  
**__**Hope you guys like it so far :D**_

_**Leave me a review!**_

_**Your Humble Servant  
**__**xDelfin**_


	20. XX' Back to School: Roxas & Ven

_**Monday**_

_**20.**_

It's a warm summer evening in ancient Greece… Wait, no. It is 6:45 in the morning, present day in Markham, Ontario and it is definitely not _warm._

Roxas groaned, pulling his legs closer into his body. His feet were icicles at the bottom of the duvet. His room always managed to stay the most unpleasant part of the house; sweltering in the summer and frigid in the winter. The coldness slowly brought him into alertness and he opened his eyes.

_Monday. Today was Monday. The day when people go back to work and… school. _Roxas grumbled and buried his face into his pillow. He heard Leon come out of the bathroom and tap on Sora's bedroom door.

He let himself swim in and out of consciousness for a while, until it hurt. Unless he was truly exhausted and would no doubt fall asleep the minute his head hit the pillow, he wouldn't bother closing his eyes since he'd immediately get dizzy. If he didn't stop, it would then escalate to throbbing, then a full out migraine. That was like asking to throw up. So he poked his blond head out of the feather duvet and deeply inhaled the icy scent in the air. _Huh, that felt kinda good._

Sometime later, Sora turned off the water in the bathroom. Roxas looked at the door of his room. _Might as well._ He reached over his head and pointed his toes to stretch. His body shivered as he yawned. Toes poked out of the bed and landed on a chilly spot on the red carpet.

Grabbing his towel, he grudgingly left the comfort of his room to take a scalding-hot shower. Three minutes later: _OMFG, he used all the hot water!_ Roxas growled and practically and scratched the shampoo into his head.

After mechanically brushing his teeth, he lazily walked back into his room to dress up. Uniforms were stupid. Thankfully, they were his favourite colours: black and white, but that didn't stop him from masquerading non-uniform pants and shirts as the authentic thing. The only cool thing about it that he always wore was the jacket-like sweater. It had a collar, which if you don't snap it shut across your neck (like you're supposed to) looks pretty cool. It also had the golden roman numerals 'III' on it, signifying that he was in third year high school.

Combing his hair through so that it would stick up naturally (without knots) when dry, he slipped on his two rings and chequered wristband (all rebellious paraphernalia), grabbed his nearly empty bag, some lunch money and left his room, which he already missed.

Sora was eating breakfast when Roxas appeared in the kitchen. He nearly chocked at the sight of his brother (1) on his feet at 7:15AM, (2) in his uniform, and (3) freshly showered? Okay, that last was an overstatement. But really, 'sick Roxas' tends to cease showering _every_ other day and only on special circumstances. (E.g,. last Saturday.)

"Dude!" Sora said wiping milk from his chin. "Is it Halloween?"

"No, dufus, I'm going to school." He lifted the milk pitcher to find it.. very, very light. (Plastic still weighs _something._) He narrowed his already sleepy eyes at his brother then reached for two slices of bread.

"Really? And you're feeling better?" He was surprised. Usually at this time, Roxas would be shooing (shouting) at his father to leave him alone.

"I'm sleepy." Roxas said flatly as toast popped up. "And my stomach hurts a little, but that might just be because someone finished the milk."

Sora didn't even acknowledge the end of the sentence. "Aww, I have work today! You better still be feeling this good tomorrow. We missed you at lunch."

"If I'm still feeling this way tomorrow, I'm going to make you skip homeroom and buy the damn milk yourself." He replied flatly, the butter melting as he spread it over the golden slices.

* * *

Roxas hopped off the school bus at 7:55. Usually he'd be complaining about how this damn bus driver needs to learn how to slow down _and then_ stop, but Roxas was so tired, he'd napped the whole ride there. He followed the line of students into the building and marched down the hall with half-lidded eyes. If anyone was whispering gossip about him, reprimanding his 'uniform' or just blankly eyeing him like everyone surprisingly does to each other… he didn't notice.

The halls were in their regular uproar; guys laughing obnoxiously to themselves about what was on TV, girls sitting on the floor with their slutty legs extended in front of them, making everyone hop over and 'notice' them, some chasing after teachers trying to get on their good side, and most screaming to their friends on the other end of the frikkin hallway. Roxas ignored _everything_ as best he could and followed the usual path to his locker.

At 1313, he twirled his combination 0-1-3-0 and looked inside. Did he really … _need_ anything? English class hadn't taken any notes in months, and he'd been carrying around the same notebook (essentially for doodling and such but made to look like he was actually writing _something_ in class) since freshmen year. He slammed the door passively, kicking the bottom to be able to relock it. He checked his watch. Ten minutes 'til those annoying chimes, five minutes until the outdated music that's meant to lure students into homeroom, when in all actuality, it just pisses them the hell off.

He walked up the two flights of stairs (because they school was so cheap as to only have one and a _half _floors) to room 215. Plopping down on the cheap tiles, he hugged his backpack to his chest, fished out his 'illegal' personal electronic device, chose a playlist, buried his head in his popped collar and blocked out the world.

* * *

"Class, we have a new student in our school." The teacher announced from his desk as soon as the anthem, morning prayer and announcements were said. "Everyone welcome Ventus Masters." All heads, except one, looked to the rightmost seat in the first row, where a blond boy sat, haphazardly waving at everyone. "Ventus, won't you stand up and tell us a little bit about yourself?"

The boy, presenting a cleanly pressed uniform (except for the undone collar) stood next to the teacher's desk and addressed the whispering group of students. "Um, hi. People call me 'Ven.' I grew up in Hamilton…"

"Ah, Hamilton. Home of the Botanical Gardens!" The teacher cut in.

"Yeah, it's a radiant little city. So anyways…" he continued nervously. All the girls were tittering as they looked from each other to him (clearly making it known that their conversation was _about_ him. Stupid girls), it made him uncomfortable. "Um." He scratched his left arm, adorned by a wristband. "I-" A group of guys in the back started to laugh. "Uh, I like cherries."

Roxas looked up from his arms at the randomness occurring in his English class. He was met by a boy who looked… exactly like him. The boy in the front seemed to have come to the similar conclusion and looked back at Roxas with the same amount of shock. That's when the girls who were tittering, all-out laughed.

"He's your doppelganger!" _Looks like it._ He thought. Cool. _It's like my very own clone._ He grinned. _If we ever became friends, we could pull all kinds of weird shit. That'd be fun. _"He even has your eyes!" Roxas' bulged comically.

"_How much do you like red?"_

"_Almost as much as I love blue."_

Oh. My. _God_. This was bad. What if Axel likes this guy more than Roxas? Or if it didn't work with them, Axel had a spare! A SPAAARE! _Nooo…_ Roxas growled to himself and narrowed his eyes at his desk. _GAH! This guy is gonna replace me!_

Ven noted his freak out with puzzlement. He said nothing more to anyone, but took his seat and let class resume.

"See ya later, Ax." Xigbar threw his cigarette into the toilet and staggered out of the lavatories.

"Take it easy, Xig. Don't run into any sliding doors this time."

"Me? Never!" The senior's voice disappeared into the hall. First period was nearly done and the group in the bathrooms had dispersed. And of course, 'what better way to start off the week than to get stoned?' as the yellow-eyed teen had said, before pulling out freshly rolled joints. The exhausts in the boys' bathroom were twice more efficient than anywhere else in the building, (since guys will pee _anywhere_) so Marluxia, Axel, Luxord, Larxene, Xigbar and sometimes Riku, were free to light up any day.

Axel stuck to regular Viceroys, not sharing the special effects of weed with Xigbar, who astonishingly functioned better when high. Marluxia and Larxene had left earlier and Luxord and Riku had quizzes that morning, so Axel was left all alone. He decided to just wander around for the next 15 minutes before next period, so he walked into the stall and flushed his cigarette butt. Just as he was about to leave, Roxas walked in.

He was about to go up to the boy, when a familiar voice echoed through the bathroom. "Ven, hurry up!"

_Ven? Who's that?_

"You can't rush nature, Roxas." The answer came from the boy who just walked by. But Axel could've sworn that was the blond he'd known. He slowly closed the stall door and snuck a peek at the two boys. Lo and behold, the two looked exactly the same, and it was the second one speaking whom he'd dated last week. Axel was astonished. Were they related? He carefully perched himself on the porcelain of the toilet to hide his feet.

"I don't know why he made me come with you to the bathroom. You're a big boy. I don't need to hold your hand, do I?" That was most definitely Roxas. _Talk about bitchy with a capital 'B.'_

The other boy, Ven, just laughed. "I'm still new to the building. Plus I got you out of class 10 minutes early. All you gotta do is lead me to my next class after this." Axel considered a theory of Roxas' attitude to be a front used with new people. He'd clearly since _this_ attitude before.

"Psh, I happen to like English, thank you very much."

"Oh." His voice seemed to drop. "It didn't seem like it earlier." Ven finished his business and walked over to the sinks, where Roxas was sitting on the counter.

"That's just because we were doing essays," he said tiredly. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind essays as long as there's a suitable topic. But the guy insists on breaking it up into thesis, body one, two and three and conclusion. I don't do that. I'd rather just be given lots of time to write the whole damn thing."

"I see…" Ven washed his hands. "But I think this just makes it more organized. Let's you break everything down, so you know what's what and what goes where."

"I guess," Roxas said indifferently. "Usually we read Shakespeare. I'm not a trekkie or anything, but he asks people to read lines with him in front of the class so we get the 'mood' of the scene." Ven looked at him while drying his hands. "I'm a frequent volunteer." He added softly.

"That's cool." Ven smiled, nodding. He sniffed. "Do you smell smoke?" Axel tensed. _Oh, crap._ If he's discovered now, Roxas would never look at him the same way again. He'll be known as the pervert who listens to boys when they pee!

He heard Roxas scoff. "Axel and them must've just left…" The junior mumbled.

"Who's Axel?" An innocent question, followed by a long pause as Roxas looked at the boy square in the face.

"Ven, how open-minded are you?"

"Pretty open-minded…"

"Are you gay?" _Way to be blunt, Roxas, _though Axel found himself waiting for the answer as well.

"I've never thought about it." Ven replied simply. "It wouldn't bother me too much if I found out I was, but no I don't think so." He smirked at Roxas. "So you're gay for this Axel guy?"

"Well you don't have to put it like that!" He retorted sharply, but Ven couldn't help but laugh. Axel also couldn't help but smile. And that's what perplexed him; why does he care? He's gone out with a whole bunch of people in the past. They've gone farther in one date than he and Roxas had last Saturday, but he's never thought of them any differently after that. But hearing the Roxas liked him… it definitely made him feel _different_.

Axel almost fell into toilet when an elderly feminine voice flooded through the echo-y washroom. _"Good morning, Kingdom Academy. Here are your morning announcements…"_ Axel tried to block out Ms. Maleficent's shrill voice and zero in on the two blonds' outside his stall, but it seemed like they were leaving for their next class. "…lastly, a reminder that Friday is a PA day. So if I find any students within the building on my day off, I will personally ensure that your detention is trimming my garden hedges into my favourite movie stars. …Those are all your announcements; have a 'magnificent Monday.'"

_No school on Friday? Perfect._

Axel exited the lavatory with a broad smile, not noticing the people pointing to his shoe, where a trail of toilet paper was stalking him.

* * *

**_Everybody got a life this summer ;-;  
And what do I get? FUNCTIONS =-=_**

Sorry, this chapter was un-beta-d :\  
Hope you liked it anyways xD

First line belongs to WB  
Uniform belongs to Papa to Kiss in the Dark (it was just so cool ^^)  
and KH belongs to Squeenix.  


**_Teehee, I love morning Roxas :]  
Review if you want more ~!_**

Y-loving-HS  
xDelfin


	21. XXI' Back to School: Zemyx & HayWOAH!

_**21.**_

"Zexyyy~!"

"Hello, Demyx." Zexion greeted quasi-enthusiastic, keeping his eyes on Robert Ludlum. His boyfriend plopped down beside him under the tree and kissed his cheek. He responded by rotating his neck 45° and kissing the air in the blond's direction.

"How was philosophy?" He chirped.

"Insightful." Zexion replied simply and a little deadpanned. "How was math?"

Demyx instantly deflated and hugged his knees to his chest. "You know how it went…" Zexion replaced his Little Mermaid bookmark (a gift from Demyx, he swears) and shut _Matarese Circle_ to look at him. "I failed another quiz," he mumbled, fingering through his bag to show the offending paper to his genius of a boyfriend.

Indigo eyes scrutinized the top right corner where a '46' was scrawled and circled in red. He looked at the majority of incorrect answers with confusion. "Dem, we went over this just last night. What happened?"

"I don't know!" He wailed. "I thought I understood it." Demyx crouched over his knees, hiding his eyes.

"We reviewed that the sine law was for two given sides and an opposite angle."

"Uhuh."

"Then why did you use cosine?"

"Because I found the contained angle anyway!" Demyx did find cosine to be easier.

"You subtracted the sum from 360."

"So?"

"It's 180, hun…"

Demyx screamed throatily into his arms. Zexion put the quiz down and rubbed his crouching back. Demyx was a senior trying to get past grade-ten algebra. Zexion didn't know what the problem was. They would review for hours and hours, and Demyx would know everything. Then when the tests came, he seemed to have forgotten the first few (minor, but still important to the process) things they studied. Zexion started to feel short breaths coming in shakes.

"Dem, don't cry." He said softly. The blond lifted his head to reveal his pink eyes.

"You must be so embarrassed." He whispered, sniffling.

"Of what?"

"You, Zexion, Valedictorian of 2010, getting into his university of choice on a scholarship, top of _all_ his classes, is going out with a loser who's failing at kiddie stuff. That's rich..."

Zexion's eyebrows knit together. "You know that's not true."

"Of course it is. You're good at everything you take. A guy like you should even be seen with a guy like me." Demyx was never this sad. It was a wonder he knew how to frown.

"That's just because all the classes I take are basically the same thing." He reasoned. "Biology, chemistry, physics; all math and science. Don't you remember freshmen year? I wasn't too good in music, but I took it."

"You still got by with an 87 _and_ you play the piano better than me!"

Zexion sighed. "Demyx, I could care less about what level of _math_ you're at. In fact, I like that I can spend all those hours studying with you. It gives me a chance to analyze how you think and I get to see you concentrating. …It's rather cute." He mumbled that last bit. "But most of all, I know that math isn't your thing," he said simply. "I think I've known you long enough to notice that you're amazing when it comes to music and arts." He placed his hand over top Demyx's arm for emphasis. "And you are just as good at those, as I am in physics." Zexion smirked.

The blond senior widened his eyes at that. Physics was Zexion's best subject. His prime rib. The swiss of the chocolate. The reason his GPA was a solid 4.0. "You really mean that?" he asked quietly. Zexion leaned forward and kissed him. He instantly melted and let Zexion nibble his lips. When they slowly pulled apart, Demyx smiled, relieved. "Aww, Zexy," he said affectionately, "you really must love me, if you're putting up with all of this from me."

The slate-haired senior just rolled his eyes, pulled Demyx closer to him, and reopened his suspense/mystery novel. Demyx giggled like his normal self and turned his head to kiss Zexion on the cheek. "And I love you too ~."

The two remained like that for the remained of the period. When their spare was nearly finished, Zexion stood up first and helped Demyx. "Huh, that was weird." Demyx dusted off the grass on his pants. "You were optimistic and I was emo." Zexion just rolled his eyes and silently took his boyfriend's hand.

* * *

Roxas and Hayner made their way into the boys' change room at the start of period 3. "So you finally decided to show your face." Hayner said shrugging off his jacket and shirt.

"Yeah, couldn't stand being away from you for so long," he cooed, stepping out of his red and black sneakers. "Hope I didn't miss anything too exciting."

Hayner pulled the ugly white gym shirt over his blond head. "Nah, school's a drag as usual." Roxas was relieved. If Hayner was his typical easily-gets-bored self, then he really didn't miss anything of any importance.

"Great. I'm glad I had more fun sleeping my ass off than being stuck here." They chuckled, then Roxas caught sight of a few upperclassmen on the other side of the room . "Hey look, it's Seifer. He hasn't given you a whole lot of trouble while I was gone, right?"

Hayner was focusing on get in his gym shorts on. "Uh, no… not really."

"He's coming this way." The senior, wearing only his school pants and that ridiculous beanie, approached the two boys. Roxas scowled and immediately went into 'defence mode,' ready to retaliate just like old times. Seifer strode closer with that pompous grin, but there was something different in the look the senior was giving them.

Roxas couldn't put his finger on it and that's when Hayner stepped in front of him and blurted, "Okay, you have to understand. I lied; a lot of things happened while you were away." He talked with a hint of panic and wide eyes, and then built arms appeared around his neck.

Roxas snarled at Seifer behind a startled Hayner. Wait- _startled_? Not pissed off? Not preparing to rip the offending limbs off? No, and was he… leaning _in_ to the man's touch?

"WOAH," was all he could say. "Woah. Woah. Wait a sec-." He gaped at the pair. "You.. you guys," Hayner watched, concerned as he stuttered. He pointed to his best friend, "You," he pointed to Seifer, "and _YOU_?"

"You got a problem with that, lamer?" Seifer narrowed his eyes. Well, Roxas was glad some things remained the same. He'd be even more creeped out if they were those cutesy couples that sprout sunshine and rainbows (hehe) whenever they were together.

There was just something horribly wrong with thinking of Seifer and Hayner and saying 'couple' in Roxas' head… "That's weirder than you going out with…" he pulled a name out of his ass, "Setzer!"

"Do I look like Olette to you?"

"_Olette's_ going out with Setzer?" Roxas stared wide-eyed.

"Yes." Hayner said, simply.

"College guy, Setzer…?"

"Yes." Seifer smirked from behind Hayner's ear.

"I'll-make-it-worth-your-while Setzer?"

"Yes."

"Drama-loving, purple-wearing, ass-whistles-every-time-he-jumps Setz-?"

"YES!" They yelled in unison.

"…Woah."

* * *

"I never thought you were gay." Roxas said as the class did warm-ups.

"I'm not." Hayner squinted. "And don't say I'm 'Seifer-sexual.' That term is over-used and it isn't funny. No matter how much it actually applies in this case…"

Roxas smirked and overly shrugged with his arms perpendicular in front of him. "When did you get together?"

"Umm, two-three weeks ago?" They stood and pulled up their left leg behind them to stretch. Roxas smirking as Hayner wobbled a little bit.

"How did it happen?" Seifer and Hayner have been rivals since diapers. Through the taunts before every game they'd play in gym, to the face-offs in the halls, you'd think they'd be knocking on each other's coffins telling each other how stupid they were.

"Well, we were wrestling…"

Roxas fell over.

* * *

_**Yay for Zemyx and Hayfer~!  
**_

_**LOL, sorry Demyx was OC here, but I thought it would work ;]  
OMG. IT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO FIGURE OUT WHAT FEASIBLE PROBLEM DEMYX WOULD HAVE IN MATH. THAT'S HOW MUCH I HATE IT Dx **_

_**I tried thinking about that stuff we did in class… -blank- **_

_**If I can get them done, the next part will be up almost immediately after this one. **_

_**Fillers fillers fillers x]**_

_**Stay tuned after these reviews.  
**_

_**Hope you liked it~!**_

_**YHS**_

_**xDelfin**_


	22. XXII' Back to School: SoRiku & AkuRoku

_**22.**_

"Hello. Checking in."

"Certainly, name?" Sora smiled at the client over the counter.

"Amada. A-M-A-D-A" Typing in the name, he pulled up the reservation.

"That's a queen, non-smoking room and you don't know when you'll be checking out?" He read the information back to the man.

"That's right," he replied.

"Okay." Sora checked him in into the system, printing out a registration paper. "I just need your credit card, and for you to initial here, here and sign on the bottom." He pointed to the places while swiping the gold plastic handed to him. "Thank you. Is this your first time staying at a Sofitel?"

Sora punched in the room number and swiped two blank cards. "Yes, it is." He placed the two in their paper-jackets and inserted a slip of paper with information.

"Well, welcome to the Sofitel! Here are your keycards, and the password to our complimentary wireless internet." He indicated with his pen. "We also have a computer for your use here in the lobby. That corridor there leads to our restaurant, we can also deliver to your room, and the pool and fitness centre is down in the lower lobby."

"Perfect." The man looked at the paper then back to Sora. "Thank you."

"Thank _you_ for staying at the Sofitel. Enjoy!" Sora replied. The man and his wife walked over to the elevators, expensive suitcases in tow. Sora sighed and turned to Yuffie in the next pod. "Man, dealing with unenthusiastic clients is so tiresome."

"I know. But you're doing great Sora! You'll always get clients like that every now and then." The woman in the black suit smiled encouragingly at him.

Business at the Sofitel came in waves. The lobby would be a mausoleum and then five minutes later be guests checking in, checking out, airlines flying in, a group function asking where to set up, etc,. He'd worked here for nearly five months, every other day counting for 4 credits in school. It was hard work, since he'd migrate to different parts of the hotel in the afternoon to lend a hand, but he enjoyed it thoroughly.

It was roughly 1:45, and Sora was getting iffy in his own suit. It was too _straight._ He shifted around in his blazer. It was getting hotter. Weather, lately, had been cold mornings and night and warm afternoons. It drove him crazy. Especially since the lobby was mainly glass, Sora was still expected to look business-like and wear the thick piece of clothing that barely allowed arm-movement.

He loosened his collar. "Hey Yuffie, do you mind if I take a break?"

"Sure kid, take your time." She winked and went back to reorganizing her pod. He thanked her, going behind, into the service elevator. When it arrived, he stepped in, ignoring that it smelled like sweat, and pushed 'B.'

The basement was more or less air conditioned than upstairs. Walking down the hall, he passed the housekeeping office, where he worked when the days were slow, and stepped into the break room. One of the great things about working here, that Sora never took for granted: Free food. Lunch was always served at 11:45 until 1:30 and Sora never had a less than full plate. He stuck a cup under a nozzle and pushed the button for orange juice. _Refreshing._ Then before he sat down, he set the cup on the table, shed that awful jacket and pulled out his phone.

**To: Riku**

_Riku! It's hot D:  
I wanna go home ;-;_

**-Send-**

Sora sipped his juice, looking at the big screen TV (oh yes!) mounted on the wall, opposite his table. The weather channel showed a 26° afternoon, with a humidex of 28°. _Delightful. _And miraculously, the city would sleep in a night as cold as 7°. Sora's phone buzzed on the table.

**Fr: Riku**

_I know. Me 2, Sor. _

_How bout I pick you up from work?_

_Ice-cream. My treat. ;]_

**Sent: 1:57PM on /03/01/10/**

Sora squeed and it echoed into his cup. He and Riku had been getting along great. They sit on the bus together, eat lunch together and studied together once in a while. _Just like old times._ He smiled.

**To: Riku**

_Yay! That sounds great ^^_

_TY Riku ~_

_Meet me on the patio at 4:00?_

**-Send-**

**Fr: Riku**

_See you then, QT._

**Sent: 2:03PM on /03/01/10/**

**To: Leon**

_Riku and I are hanging out after work.  
I'll go home with him._

_Thanks, dad!_

**-Send-**

He received his dad's approval sometime later when he had gone back to work. But what stuck with him for the rest of the day was 'QT.' _QT? Kew-tee? _Sora didn't get it for a while. But when he did, he broke out into a starry-eyed grin. It was only misfortunate that a client had been complaining to him about AC at the time.

**Forty-five minutes later…**

"See ya later Roxas!" Olette waved goodbye followed by Pence and Hayner as they boarded their bus. Roxas waved back and leant against the bricks of the school to wait for his own bus. The day was finally over. He was going home now. _Sora would be home later._ Though he thought it was cool that his brother having such a 'grown up' job, it was still beyond school hours. Roxas would die if he had to stay there for so long. The day was done and he couldn't _wait_ to get back into bed.

The junior was about to pull out his headphones when a tall figure sat down beside him. "Hey there, princess."

"Axel!" he smiled, but it soon faded with annoyance. "_What_ did you call me?"

The senior didn't answer but laughed and got right to the point. "So Friday, no school. Any plans?"

Roxas hid his rush of excitement. "No, not really." He tried to sound as indifferent as impossible, but he was already flustered by the sudden presence of the redhead, he might have been smiling a little more than normal.

"Great." He flashed his own winning smile. "How about I pick you up early and we live it up for a whole day?"

Roxas was on the verge of fainting. And he thought he'd have to work extra hard to get Axel's attention, but Axel was coming to _him_! Things were finally going right. "I'd love to. Here." He fished out an old receipt from his wallet and wrote his cell number. Going a little farther wouldn't hurt. It'd only make things better. He handed the slip to the redhead.

Axel took one look at it and smirked. "Thanks cutie. I'll call you." Roxas feared he'd say something stupid like 'I'll be waiting' or … something else that's cheesy that should have been flirty and a _little_ inappropriate. So the blond just nodded and smiled. A nice touch of naturalism there. Axel winked and walked away, leaving him in a mess of emotions.

So many things crossed his mind. This would be their second date. It would be for a whole day. And they would be alone. Oh, he'd make sure they were _very_ alone. He'd tie Sora to the poles in the basement if he had to. He couldn't deny it now; Roxas had fallen head over heels. And he felt so excited.

There were so many things he could still learn about this boy. There were so many things he could do together. In his whole life filled with things he _had _to do; everything he'd learned to just swallow and go with; everything he'd had to put up with simply because that was the way things were; everything he'd grown to hate and be sick off; those were all pushed aside. Because for now, Roxas was being involved in something he wanted for himself; something that would definitely be the source of happiness in his life.

Roxas was so giddy, he missed his bus.

**Later…**

The general manager looked out the window of his office with distain. Outside were two boys, one in a school uniform, one in a suit. They were in _very_ close contact with each other. Deja let the blinds snap back into alignment and crack his knuckles. _This is unacceptable. _

_**End of Monday**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Fillers are annoying x-x  
So this is the end of this part and I'm just polishing off 23 ^^**_

_**Thank you to all my readers :D  
Honourable mentions: Vithian ; blood as soft as silk ; iluvtoady ; and of course my betas: LalaHachi and Kelseywazhere ~! You guys have been with me for the longest and I love you for it 8D  
**_

_**I love you all ~!  
**_

_**Your Loving Humble Servant  
**__**xDelfin**_


	23. XXIII' Date Me!: Axel & Leon

**Friday**

_**23.**_

Axel walked up the brick-lined path of the Strife household. He and the youngest of the estate had talked late last night, discussing what to do with their day of freedom. A PA day on a Friday was definitely a good opportunity. (As usual, it was the end of the week, but everything was open without those weird store hours.) They both agreed that starting the day off early was the way to do the day right.

Dusting himself off on the porch, he checked his watch. 7:28. Not bad. A little early, but nonetheless, he rang the doorbell. As footsteps approached, he inadvertently sucked in a breath. The door opened… and a tall brown-haired man stared him down.

The birds chirped in their silence.

_Who was he?_ Roxas and Sora's dad was blond from what he remembered last Saturday. "Umm, hi."

"Hello…" Leon said tentatively and guardedly. This was the same boy from last week; the one messing around with Roxas. His eye nearly twitched at that. His paternal instincts were flaring.

"My name's Axel. I'm here for Roxas." This man was looking at him with authority. Therefore, the polite, charming card was best played.

"I see." Perfect. _A name to match the potential carcass._ "Please," he stepped aside, "come inside."

Axel gulped, much like when Sora and Roxas had done the same, but kept face. "Thank you, sir."

They stood in the foyer, Axel shifting nervously under Leon's calculating stare. _WHAT IS UP WITH THIS HOUSE? Does it like, _induce_ awkward moments that make everything little thing you do under a friggin magnifying glass? Honestly! This _never_ happens when I pick someone else up! Usually the friend crashing on their couch and I make conversation while my date's getting ready. Sometimes I play around with whatever pet is biting my ankles. Even if their parents are home, they're too drunk or stoned to acknowledge my existence. And then this guy… he's just scary._

"So, Axel," He jumped at the sound of his name. "Do you go to school with Sora and Roxas?"

"Yes, sir. I'm one year ahead of them." Leon seemed to react at that. _Whaaat? I'm not _that_ old! _Leon's flicker of… whatever it was, made Axel just keep what he said at a bare minimum. He was getting frustrated. As aforementioned, the redhead and silence do not go together. To that, he'd like to add: teeth-rotting politeness, discomfort-provoked humility, and possibly tall, brooding men with stormy blue-grey eyes that turn your soul into a sheet of ice, and wait for it to shatter completely.

"I see," came the plain acknowledgement. "By the way, you can call me 'Leon.'"

"Oh, okay. Leon." Oh God, even his own tongue was foreign to him now.

"Axel?"

He looked up to where the little and familiar voice came from. And there, leaning over the banister on the second floor, was the bright angel sent from 'above' to rescue him for the frigid wasteland of small talk. His heart glowed at the sight of the blond boy. "Roxy!" he said, perhaps a little too relieved.

The blond smiled convivially then turned to his father. "Dad, what are you doing?" _Dad?_ Axel looked at Leon with subtle confusion.

"Nothing," he said almost purely innocently, "just getting to know your friend here. Speaking of which, what _are_ you doing him?" Long bangs hid the brown eyebrow that quirked in interest.

"Axel's kidnapping me for the day," he smiled brightly. Axel felt his blood turn cold under the father's gaze. _Way to make me sound like a criminal, Rox._ "Hey Ax, why don't you come here? You know, before my dad kills you." He leaned off the banister and turned towards his room. "Or worse! Get's into the 'what are your intentions with my daughter' talk." Axel followed obediently, sparing one last nervous smile at the boy's father.

When the senior entered the bedroom, the first thing he noticed was that Roxas was wearing Donald Duck booty shorts. (Followed closely by the fact that his walls were pink, but still –booty shorts!) The blond didn't notice, however, since he was deciding what to wear. (Hence why he was only clad in a loose t-shirt and _really _short shorts.

"Hey, Axel, what am I dressing for? You were so cryptic on the phone." Roxas held up a shirt to his chest. "Like indoor, outdoor, place with lotsa air conditioning, place with no air conditioning at all…" He tiptoed to reach something in the shelf of his closet, not noticing the way his shirt rode up along with him to reveal the sexiest hips Axel might had ever seen sporting shorts.

"And what style am I going for? Punk, preppy, emo, cutesy –I can do it all. Hell, I'd even go drag if it fit the décor." A chill ran down Roxas' spine. _I'm such a girl_, he groaned. "I like being prepared." Roxas amended, bending down to retrieve a sweater that had fallen off its hanger.

Axel lost it.

Strong hands appeared around Roxas' waist and threw him onto the bed. The redhead climbed between his bare legs and towered over the flustered boy. Roxas' slightly clenched hands were up near his head in shock, his t-shirt slipping up and giving Axel full access to his body. But Axel barely noticed. Instead, he snaked his upper body along the boy's to reach his lips, taking them hard and full.

Roxas' eyes went wide, his heart pounding in his chest. This was the first Axel had initiated. This was probably what he might have felt like when Roxas kissed him in the car. Their closeness made the rest of him numb; like all he could feel was _Axel_; Axel's presence, Axel's arms on the bed, closing him in, Axel's chest pinning him down. Roxas was petrified.

And when they finally broke apart, he let out a breath he unknowingly held for the whole time and stared into hypnotic pools of green. "Good morning." Axel said, the smirk on his face still present as he panted.

"Morning," Roxas said, astonished at such a greeting. His mouth even felt numb. Axel didn't break their gaze. He just looked as if he was swimming deeper and deeper into the window of the boy's soul. Roxas felt mildly exposed.

"And you'll look sexy no matter what you wear." Roxas blushed a crimson shade when the senior leaned in, agonizingly slow.

"Roxas, I'm leaving. Don't forget to-…" Leon stared. Out of instinct, Axel jumped back. Or he would have if he hadn't tripped over a hanger and fallen flat on his ass. "Do I need to have a talk with you two?"

Roxas pulled his shirt down and sat up modestly. "Hi dad," he grinned guiltily. "Axel was just helping me with my clothes."

"Off?"

"No!"

"Mhm. Well, I'm going to work now." Leon turned halfway into the hall, squinting, as if he didn't want to know what obscenities he might have seen if he'd arrived a little later. "Tell Sora that if he does decide to go to work, that he should call me about a ride home. Speaking of which," _yeah right_ "when are you coming home?"

"Umm, what time _can_ I be home…?" Leon shifted his eyes to make it look like he was being thoughtful.

"One,"

Roxas beamed. "REALLY?"

"PM."

"_Daaad_!" Axel had to suppress his snickers.

The brunet sighed. "Before midnight. And if for any reason (which I do not want to know about), you're sleeping somewhere else, you let me know and _make sure _Cloud doesn't find out." He turned away with finality like he wanted nothing more to do with the conversation.

Roxas squealed and ran over to his father to hug him. When he got into the hall, he saw Sora; hair mussed, boxers askew, eyes narrowed, mouth open and finger pointed straight at Leon. "That's not fair!" He whined and reminded Roxas of a 'D-is-less-than.' "Why does Roxas get to stay out 'til midnight? Or not even _come home_?"

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. Because like in simplifying equations, 'what you do to one side, you have to do to the other.' And this result was not simple at all. "Are _you_ going out?"

Sora put his hands on his hips. "MAAAYBE."

"Hold up, you were listening?" Roxas snarled, but Sora just raised his eyebrows at him.

"I _wonder_ why I'm even up at all! Perhaps a large commotion on the other side of my wall? HMMM?" Roxas broke into a smirk, looking at Axel behind him; scratching the back of his head and conveniently taking an interest in Roxas' Hello Kitty calendar. Like he was gonna say something 'Axel' with the scary parental figure in front of them.

"Anyway," Leon said in his tired voice. "Sora, even if you weren't going to come home, I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind you staying next door anyways. Just tell me _before _12 o'clock." He looked at his watch. "Okay, gotta go."

The three watched him go down the stairs. "I swear Roxas, if you decide to do something illegal and get _caught_," he paused for even more emphasis "I only found out when Cloud finds out." Sora snickered. "Sora, you too!"

"Bye!"

"Have fun at work!"

They heard him mutter a 'kids' under his breath before the front door closed. Axel finally chose to speak up. "Should I be offended that he immediately associated me with staying out late, fornication and incriminating behaviour?"

* * *

_**Poor Axel, can't catch a break x]  
**__**OOOH he 'met the parent!' ;D**_

_**This story is very close to be rated M.  
**__**Please recommend this fic when it does!  
**__**It won't show up on the search unless people are **_**looking for **_**M fics. ;-;**_

_**I don't think I'll post the lemon unless I have a couple more new readers, actually…  
**__**Just a heads up :D**_

_**Thank you for reading ~!**_

_**YHS  
**__**xDelfin**_


	24. XXIV' Date Me!: Sora, Riku & the Maniac

_**24.**_

After Roxas had stolen his prized extra stretchy/extra tight pants, which he probably wouldn't want back after today, he saw him and Axel drive away in a pickup truck. Sora smiled. The day was just his and Riku's. It sounded so silly to him; he'd just seen the boy yesterday, and yet the aching need to just be in the same room with him was flaring and terribly agonizing.

They were so busy lately. (Well, Riku more than Sora since he only had four classes with work.) It seemed like all the classes were finishing off chapters. It was like month-end at the hotel but with less filing and more studying for unit tests.

_Poor Riku._ Maybe keeping him from his books right now wasn't such a great idea. It wasn't like Riku would fail without studying for today, but impressing his father with high marks was a constant priority. Sora _was _going out with the future Director of Jenova Projects. Yes, Riku was to inherit the business, which was odd since he was the youngest of his brothers. Not even Riku knew why he was the one to take over, but Sephiroth had promised him answers when the time came.

He couldn't believe how well things were going. It should have been impossible for someone to be so auspicious. He had good grades that he wholeheartedly earned, he had a great job that firmly pushed him to where he wanted to go in life, he had incredibly supportive parents who'd probably do anything for him, he had the greatest twin brother who he could blackmail into giving him some pocket money, he was young, he was healthy, and he had Riku. Sora grinned as his mind went back to the silveret.

Anyone with Riku in their life was lucky. And how much more did that mean when Sora had a _special_ place in the boy's heart? Sora was special to someone, and that someone was Riku. When this all began, he felt like he'd won the lottery; the non-existent one with lots of secret bonuses that only made your life better. But what worried him was if he was the same thing to Riku.

They would definitely talk about it. He wasn't planning it, but Sora would just wait for an opportune moment to arise and he'd … _talk_. It sounded so scary. _Riku, _Sora flopped onto the couch._ I'm completely taken with you. And I'm freaked out of my mind._

Sora reached into his pocket for his cell phone. Speed dial 3. _–Insert odd ringing noise that isn't really a ring, but more like a low-setting vibration tone that signifies that the actual ringing is happening on the other side of the satellite, even when they are not completely in sync, but has been used for years and years and that no one will ever think to change because it's formulated its identity as the phone ring– _A deep, sexy voice answered. "Hello?" Sora's heart stopped and he mentally smacked himself. Like he hasn't heard his voice in weeks!

"Hey," he greeted lowly.

"Sora!" Riku's voice audibly 'brightened,' if that was at all possible _outside _Sora's head. (He was seeing shooting stars.) "Are you coming over now?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you were awake."

"I'm finishing something in the kitchen so just let yourself in, alright?"

Sora sat up with a smirk. "You're cooking? I don't think I wanna be in the house. Or neighbourhood."

"Just get over here, wise guy." Sora giggled and hung up. Two minutes later, he was closing the front door of Riku's house behind him. He looked around timidly. Even entering someone else's house with their permission but without _them_, always felt kind of … wrong.

One side of the kitchen was the end of the long hallway from the foyer and past the living room. That was where Riku stood, eerily still, plate in hand and watching Sora as the brunet took of his shoes. When the boy looked up, he saw Riku immediately and started to walk towards him.

"Hey Riku, what's that you're cooking? It almost smells edible." He laughed, but Riku didn't make a sound. He barely showed signs of comprehension. Instead, he put the plate in his hands down and hastily met Sora in the sitting room. "Riku? What's-?"

Without warning, notice, or batting an eyelash Riku took firm hold of Sora's chin and crashed their lips together. It started off as hard and continuous, and then grew to Riku _needing _to touch every spot of the boy's lips with his own. Thrice over.

Sora stared at him with wide eyes. Riku laughed softly as he pulled away. But he didn't move back very far since Sora felt the warm breath as he whispered, "Hi."

The younger choked out in response at the abruptness of the situation and inhaled sharply when Riku seized his lips again. Riku closed the remaining distance between their bodies. Sora, languidly letting him take control, was bent back over the top of the couch. The silveret quickly peppered Sora with kisses everywhere between his jaw, ears and whatever else wasn't concealed by his open collar. The boy's neck rolled back in blissful pleasure.

It wasn't long before Riku climbed over him, making their bodies slide onto to the couch seats. Sora moaned when Riku's tongue slithered into his mouth. The teen playfully darted in and out, occasionally pausing before pushing back in. Eliciting soft whines, the brunet wrapped his arms tightly around Riku's neck to deepen the kiss and to make sure Riku didn't pull away until he was good and ready.

When Sora's legs eventually made their way around the older teen's waist, Riku nearly fainted. His head swam with incomplete thoughts (groans). Most of them sounding like: '_Frick Sora, why'd you have to walk in like that?'_ or _'Can't believe this is happening to me.'_ and even '_Need skin._ Nowww.'

Before he could get his mind off the thought, Sora had grabbed one of his hands and placed it just below the hem of his red polo. The heat from his palm sent shocks from his upper thigh, even more so when Riku dragged his nails up the sensitive side of his waist. His body convulsed, rubbing their arousals together.

The heat rushed to Riku's face and he moved to nibble on Sora's cute little ear; nibbling on it, licking it, _sucking_ on it. His fingers brushed past a nub and snaked up the Sora's left arm. After softly scratching the delicate inner skin, he hooked his fingers onto the boy's sleeve. Sora slipped it out and dived directly to Riku's zipper. His active/compliant manner turned the silveret on immensely. Riku slightly crouched to let Sora release him from his denim detention and to draw light circles all over a newly exposed, _creamy_ shoulder.

Sora's fingers trembled. He could feel the heat of Riku's gaze on him literally making him sweat. He looked straight into his eyes as he popped the button open. Their eyes slipped shut and their open mouths drew closer. Sora slowly dragged the zipper down…

**-THWUMP!-**

Sora squeaked, not quite silently, when Riku bit his lip in surprise.

Feet scuttled across the carpeted floor and the dishevelled pair looked at the intruder grinning _maniacally_.

"Well, look what brother was hiding."

* * *

_**This is so bad xD  
I had an easier time writing THEM than Axel and Roxas. Dammit xP**_

Gah I've over sexi-fied myself this time. (replaced phrase: 'I've outdone..' o.o)  
A little Riku/Sora background here ;]  


_**REVIEW PLEASE! I know who has me on story alert. REVIEW. PLEASE ~!**_

50th reviewer get's a little something something? ;D

Omg, I can't believe I used 'denim detention' xD

Cookies to who can tell me who just walked through the door.  
And come on. I made it so totally obvious xD  
I think o.o

Thank you my lovely minions...uh READERS :D  
Thanks for your support on FlamSi ^^

YHS  
_**xDelfin **_


	25. XXV' Date Me!: Axel & Roxas Drive

_**25.**_

"Axel, where are we?" They had been driving for little over an hour. Roxas didn't notice they weren't in Markham anymore until highway 401 where they were passing by Toronto. He never really stepped outside his own city, so his fair sense of direction was completely shot to hell.

"Why, am I making you nervous?"

"Yes." _Why lie?_

He laughed. "Well, currently we are in the city of Etobicoke (pronounced Eh-toe-bi-coh), a quaint little city part of the Greater Toronto Area."

"As is Caledon!" (The north-most-west city of the GTA. In other words: far, far away from home) "Where are we going?" Roxas looked somewhat like an impatient child. He might as well have been asking 'are we there yet?' But Roxas just wanted to know what was going on. His butt was_ not_ falling asleep.

"Come on, Roxy. Don't you trust me?" Axel pouted and blinked repeatedly, reminding Roxas of a chibi version of the redhead. Ergo, how could he not trust him?

Roxas crossed his arms and slouched in his seat and mumbled, "I guess." Axel smiled as the blond fumbled with the hem of his loose black t-shirt. "OH MY GOD!" Roxas shot up and pressed his face to the window. "What did that sign say? It said something like 'International' and 'Airport!' You really _are_ kidnapping me!" He wailed, leaving streaks of condensation on the passenger side glass.

"You're so paranoid."

"I'm DOOMED!" Roxas slid off the window and buried his hands in his hair.

* * *

"Oh my God, FOOD!" His eyes lit up when Axel placed the steamy cheeseburger in front of his face. Usually he'd never eat this time of day but Roxas was up early and wasn't being distracted by school; his stomach was about to cave in.

"Hehe, eat up." Axel leaned against the open door of Roxas' side of the truck, smiling around his fries as Roxas stuffed his face. Roxas with puffy cheeks was just too cute!

They were at the Hamilton Waterfront Trail. It was kind of like a boardwalk with a couple of vendors here and there, joggers with antennas, people walking their dogs and others just watching the water in the cool March day.

"I grew up here, you know." Roxas desisted all chewing motions and looked up at Axel. He was in the city Axel started off in. He was learning more about him; something he'd forgotten to do what with keeping up appearances.

"Really." _Don't sound too excited_, he told himself. "Up until when?"

"Ten, I think? That's when Reno found us." He said all too casually. Roxas was very careful. Asking people about their families wasn't always such a harmless gesture. Especially when you automatically assume that everyone has one mommy, one daddy and they just had sex to have kids. _Riiight…_

But Axel spoke offhandedly, so Roxas just built his next sentence recycling his words. "What do you mean 'found us'?

Axel seemed to understand. Everyone in his posse knew about his history, but he had forgotten that Roxas was a new person in his life. The way they've been seeing each other, he could hardly realize they've only known each other for two weeks. "Oh, yeah. Reno's my half brother. Apparently my dad didn't know about him for fourteen years of his life and by then I was already riding bikes, reaching the light switch and stuff. Reno had been looking for him for a while, but when he found out he had me…" he shrugged his broad shoulders and pursed his lips. "M'not sure. I think I was too young to understand what actually happened." Axel turned wistful, looking out towards the steel mill across the harbour.

"Zack tried to be a good father to both of us after that. That's why we moved out of here; he took a job back home and everything. But after my mom died, Reno just, I dunno…" Axel scratched the back of his head as if trying to remember. "…up and left. Moved out at eighteen and started his own life down in Toronto." Axel looked back at Roxas; wide blue eyes staring at him like someone whose puppy had just died. He chuckled and ruffled Roxas' blond hair. _This boy is way too sheltered._ Was that a good thing? Or a bad thing? "Don't go feeling sorry for me now."

"I'm sorry!" Some people hated it when others felt sorry for them. _Not_ _good_. "I just never knew, you know… that you had such an," _what's the word?_ "intricate…past." Oh for fuck's sake. _Talk about socially retarded._ He wouldn't be surprised if Axel threw the pop can placed in his hand at his head and left him there in that strange city.

Axel guffawed. _Roxy's so adorable when he's nervous! _Even more when he's looking up at you with confusion as to why you're currently laughing. "Don't worry. I'm cool with it. I'm not one of those people who break down about their past once someone mentions it." He briefly recalled a Friends episode, season six, episode 21. "Plus, I'm pretty good with the way things turned out." He nodded seriously. "Dad met momma Aerith, the sweetest woman you could ever imagine, Reno got married and I think is expecting a little one of his own," he grinned. "I adjusted, made cool friends and," he tapped a finger on Roxas' nose. "met you." Roxas stared, quite dumbly at the redhead.

"I couldn't be happier." Axel whispered flirtatiously and kissed the boy. Roxas wondered, _'how did a couple of anecdotes turn into something…sexy?'_ Maybe Axel was just cool like that. He brushed away the thought, closed his eyes and returned the kiss. _Mmm, Axel…_

He smiled when they pulled apart. "Thanks for taking me here." It was nice to think Axel brought him to such an important place.

Axel laughed at the blond's assumption. "This isn't it."

"What?" He looked at him disbelievingly.

"This was just a pit stop." He closed the door and walked around to his own seat. "And I could hear your stomach over Jimmy Urine." Axel shook his head, turned on the ignition and drove out into the street.

"Oh! Please! No more MSI." Roxas begged. "I'll scream if you keep singing along to 'having been denied ultra sex.'" He rolled his eyes at Axel's choice of music.

_Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon-Lon_

"But my dear Roxy," he cooed and pinched the boy's cheek. "That's the point."

_London Bridge! __London- London Bridge! London- London Bridge ya muthafucken-shit._

Roxas narrowed his eyes and flicked the fingers off his face and pulled out his iPod. Just as he unravelled his earphones, Axel grabbed the device, stuck his iTrip in it and pressed play.

UH, UH, UH  
(UH OH) YO nega gurido jar hejwogonman  
gunyonun tonasso gujo barabogo isso nan  
(YOU KNOW~) janin hage narur borigo odiro gani  
gurido shwibge uso we irido bicham hanji

"Big Bang?" Axel looked back and forth from the road to Roxas with horror etched on his face. "Are you kidding me?"

(JUST KNOW) yogiso nan urosso nar jugyosso  
ne yonghon majo burtawosso  
(LET'S GO~) dwesso miryon thawin boryosso  
(OOH~) nonun ugo issosso gu namja phumeso WOO

"What? They're a _lot_ better than Mindless Self Indulgence." Roxas countered. "At least you can understand what they're saying."

Axel turned onto highway 403. "How the _hell_ do you understand Korean?"

"You just memorize the English translation and link it to the common Korean words." DUH.

"And you'd rather do all that work than rock out to MSI?"

"At least they stick to one idea, one key and one beat!"

Axel just snorted and focused on the road. "Whatever. To each his own…"

"Clearly." Roxas started bobbing around in his seat, making shooing motions with the flick of his wrists. "Goodbye, goodbye baby, gujo gujo gujo gujo henbog hejwo nar chajimargo ~" Axel just grinned and admitted to himself: Roxas _was_ a cuter version of G Dragon (especially now that his hair was blond).

The driver endured the next hour and a half of Number 1, This Love, Lies, Haru Haru, Strong Baby and the whole Heartbreaker album; most of which Roxas sang along with elaborate dance moves.

* * *

"OH… MY… GACKT…" Roxas pushed his nose up to the window. Water. Blue and white, misty water. People were taking pictures in front of it. People were looking down the cliffs where sprays dispersed. People were on a dinky boat getting close to it.

"Roxas, have you ever been to Niagara Falls?"

* * *

_**OMG I'M SO SORRY D:  
I don't really have a good excuse for my absence.  
**__**Other than summer school and well.. writer's block ;-;  
I got a 95 in math :D ?  
**_

_**Sorry for the wait. Hope you liked this chapter :]  
Ho ho~! I've added more to my master plan D  
**__**Hopefully, you guys still love me :J**_

_**YHS  
**__**xDelfin **_


	26. XXVI' Date Me! P2: Sora, Riku & the Rest

_**26.**_

Riku's brothers were… interesting. To say that they had grown up since they moved out one by one would be a _serious_ overstatement.

"It's just as less-than-room-temperature as I remembered!" A man with shoulder-length silver hair swooned, dropping the luggage in his arms to the floor and basked in the 20.5° temperature Sephiroth maintained religiously.

A more built silveret carrying twice as many bags stumbled through the doorway. "Yes, Yazoo. Leave your stuff _right_ in front of me. I'll just wait."

"Sorry, Loz." The man said airily, dropping his arms to retrieve the bags in his brother's path. "'Daj. Leave those two alone and get your stuff from Loz."

Kadaj didn't budge. Minty-green eyes were fixated on Riku and Sora, the latter trying to force his elbow through the twisted sleeve of his shirt. They attempted to sit up on the couch as gracefully as they could, but with Riku's hair dishevelled, light panting from both and Sora trying to hide behind the older boy, it was a blatant declaration as to what they were doing five seconds ago. Riku narrowed his eyes at Kadaj.

"Oh, but look! Riku finally got the balls to crunch that Sora-kid from next door! And since they're still in high school… Loz!" He called down the hall. "You owe me 50 bucks!" The eldest brother groaned either out of irritation or under the weight of whatever the third child decided to bring home. Kadaj laughed when the youngest boy on the couch flushed a bright, cherry red.

Then his jaw _dropped_.

His eyes widened at the sight. It was the last thing he'd expect to come home to that day. "OH MY GOD! I just saw Riku's fly," he shouted over his shoulder, "which means Yazoo owes me _another_ _20_!" Sora's eyes clenched tightly as Loz's thunderous laughter mingled with Kadaj's. This was beyond embarrassing!

"Get. OUT." Riku took one of the white couch pillows beside him and plowed it over his brother's head. "All of you!" He yelled to the rest of the house. "Leave!"

"But brother, we just got here." Kadaj, who had landed ass-first in the black, leather recliner, pouted and slouched to make himself look sad and a _little_ pathetic. (_It always worked._) "We're tired." He went for the exact timing and pitch by Marie in Aristocats.

"And hungry!" Loz said on his way to the kitchen.

"And in desperate need of a shower…" Yazoo's voice became even softer as he glided up the stairwell.

"And how often do you get to see your magnificent brothers?" Riku looked back to Kadaj. "Whom you love ever so dearly?" Bottom-lip-trembling, eye-lash-batting, Kadaj.

Riku gritted his teeth and growled in his throat. This was not how he expected today to turn out. What he and Sora were doing a while ago wasn't how he expected today to go _either_, but at least they were alone! "How long are you staying?" They had better not be here the whole frikking weekend!

"AW, brother! I knew you loved me!" Kadaj leapt from the La-Z-Boy chair, roughly grabbed Riku's face and kissed him full on the lips.

Letting out a disgusted grunt, Riku pushed him off violently but Kadaj kept his balance and just laughed a toothy chuckle. Riku wiped his face violently, his nose crinkled. "EW! What the _hell_ are you wearing?"

Kadaj pranced into the kitchen to join Loz. "It's called 'Aqva' by Bvlgari. Maybe you should try it. See if Sora puts out any faster." He winked before ducking, the white pillow smacking the wall behind him.

"You know if dad saw you, you'd be dead." Loz said, from the table, fork raised with a bit of scrambled egg and ketchup on the end.

"Dad's not here, and put that down! That is _not_ yours! Put it down." Riku said sharply and pointed a finger at Loz's open mouth.

The man's lips quivered. The fork began to shake, dropping the ketchup-stained egg back onto the plate. Loz's eyes began to get very wide and very… moist.

Kadaj looked disappointedly at Riku. He should know better than to take that tone with Loz! "Riku…" he started, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh my God, fine!" Riku said exasperatedly, dropping the finger pointed at the eldest. "I'll just make more…" he grumbled.

"GREAT! And you know; if you happen to come across two slices of French toast, just leave it out." Kadaj smiled cheekily after Riku spared a sorry glance at Sora, rose from his seat and walked around the couch to the kitchen. "With butter and syrup?" he added. Riku glared, passing him.

« Quelle est la problème? » He asked all too innocently. « Le pain perdu est délicieux! »

"You're insane, 'Daj."

« Je t'aime avec tout mon cœur, mon frère~! » Kadaj took Riku's seat on the couch next to Sora. "I'll just get reacquainted with your new boy toy."

The brunet leaned back in fear as Riku's brother invaded his personal space. Kadaj looked so much like Riku. The faces were almost identical. Their hair colour was almost on par. However, Kadaj's eyes were an icy green while Riku's was a cool aqua. Plus, Riku's hair was longer like Yazoo's but had layers unlike any of his brothers. And Kadaj definitely reeked of some strategically ethnic-focused spelt brand of European cologne. Riku was different from the rest of his brothers, which made Sora smile a little on the inside.

"So, Sora, have you lost your cherry to my brother yet?"

Sora gulped. What facial expression implies _neither_? He could say 'no' and be setting himself up for being put into situations where the timing would be perfect; like they were magically alone in the house with rose petals and sound proofed walls and doors with a specifically designed silk tie for the door.( And of course video cameras hidden everywhere, rendering all other paraphernalia useless.). Or he could say 'yes' and be ambushed by a hoard of more questions on where it happened, what position they used, how long Riku lasted and then be sung the theme from the Trojan man commercial.

Staying silent was also an option. But it was the light in Kadaj's eye that made him feel completely transparent and that ultimately, his innocence, still being there, making him silent for this amount of time, was a clear indication of the truth.

Sora's head hurt.

Frigid green eyes pierced through the haze, "Hello, anybody home?" as well as a familiar, feminine voice resonating from the foyer.

Sora looked around the silveret's feral smile to see who it was. "Kairi!"

"Hey, Sora." She walked towards him. "Whatcha doin?"

"Apparently, letting more people into this house than wanted." Riku said with his head dipped in the fridge.

The girl walked haughtily down the rest of the hall to where she could see her classmate from around the corner in the kitchen. One arm akimbo, the other pointed at his head, she spoke roughly, "Don't you take that tone with _me_, Riku David Shima Miyano Crescent! It is 9:30 on a PA day and I am conscious. You do _not._ Want to mess. With me."

Riku silently opened the carton of eggs. Kairi hmm'd in approval, taking her nose out of the air and turning towards the back of the couch, and acknowledged the other male on the couch. "Oh crap, you again."

Smiling, Kadaj stood up, held his arms out like he should have been wearing a robe, billowing into the wind and because everything else about him wasn't dramatic enough, closed his eyes while saying, "Why, yes. Yes, it is." He reopened his eye only to wink at the auburn-haired girl. "Shall we throw a massive party in the middle of town and invite everyone we know?"

"Or we could just skip to the drunken streaking in the next county," she shrugged and inputted casually. Kadaj leaned in and dropped his voice.

« J'aime la façon dont vous pensez que. » And Kadaj deftly sidestepped the teen and dashed up the stairs.

"Is he going to get ready or something?" Sora asked as she sat down beside him.

"Probably going to find the best source of alcohol able to be delivered on such short notice." Kairi was in such cahoots with Riku's brothers, it was disturbing. "Okay so," she slapped her lap with both hands, "why I'm here: Xion and I finished our parts last night. Are you done with yours?"

"Yeah, I finished that days ago." Their challenge and change project was due on Thursday and somehow he and Xion had roped Kairi into their non-procrastinating routine and got it done early. "My USB is at home, I'll go get it." They both stood up and Sora looked around. "Where _is_ Xion?"

Kairi leaned against the hallway. "In the car with Namine. We were gonna go hang out after we were done combining our work. Probably going to the party later."

"The more the merrier!" Kadaj shouted from the second level.

Sora laughed. "Get them in here. You brought Nami's laptop with you anyway, right?" Kairi smirked. Ever since hers broke, she'd been stealing Namine's It didn't matter that she was the one who spilled grape juice on the keyboard three weeks ago.

"Yeah, alright." Sora walked out first, and Kairi was about to follow, when an annoyed Riku appeared behind her, beating a bowl of eggs at warp speed.

"Oh yes, invade my house, bring your friend and sister with you, _encourage _my brother and kick Sora out. Wow, Kairi. Have I told you how much I love you recently?" His words shot out to the beat at which the whisk hit the bottom of the ceramic bowl.

"No, but make me and the girls some of that," she pointed to the yellow mixture, "and I'll know just the same." She made for the door once more, but halted mid-step. "And Sora's coming right back. Keep your pants on. –_unless it's too hard!_"

Loz choked on Riku's orange juice with laughter.

* * *

**French-speaking Kadaj gets me hot xD**  
**Annoyed Riku makes me giggle ^^  
****  
Sorry for the wait once again :\  
****It's not that I don't know what's gonna happen, it's that I have so many little parts to include, it's hard to connect them without being too all over the place.**

**Well, I hope this one was good :]**

**Thank you for reading, and bigger thank you if you review~! **  
**And I love specifics! "The specifics were the best part!" It shows me that the little things I include aren't in vain xP**

**Oh yeah, I hope some of you who have me on story-alert saw my new one-shot.**  
**'This is How to Break' was for Axel day. Too bad he was pretty much a dickwad in it x]**

**YHS**  
**xDelfin **


	27. XXVII' Date Me! P2: Axel & Roxas

_**27.**_

"Epilepsy."

"Come on, it's not that bad."

"Epilepsy." Roxas repeated as the neon lights flashed all around them. The walls, doorways and floors were a night black and green, blue, pink and yellow highlights. The two had been inside the Crystal Maze for less than ten minutes and already, Roxas wanted to leave. Despite a maze being his brilliant idea, the overall darkness of the room made him feel claustrophobic and fluorescent lights just rubbed him the wrong way. "How is anyone supposed to find their way around here?"

"You're just mad cuz you walked into a stalagmite." Axel laughed.

"Well who wouldn't be?" He complained. "Anyone could have crashed into it!"

"Yeah, especially… I dunno, people who are _taller_ than you." Axel smirked, looking up and down Roxas' height. Roxas' eyes reflected the fury of God-awful lights.

When they finally made it out, Roxas threw his arms and head back and basked in the outdoors. "I CAN BREATHE!"

"Oh no! Not that song again!" Axel grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled him down the sidewalk in search for other things to do. Roxas would have protested greatly and be all… you know,_ Roxas_ but… Axel was holding his hand. Roxas just smiled and let himself be dragged off.

Roxas shook his head. "No."

"Don't be such a chicken." Axel enthusiastically led them into the Nightmares Fear Factory while Roxas was just indifferent.

They got tickets and handed it to the guard. "Just follow the red lights, go as fast or slow as you want," he lazily pointed to the entrance. "And if it's too much for you just scream 'Nightmare' and someone will take you out. However your name will immediately go on our chicken list. Please no cameras. And enjoy!" Wow. He really hated his job.

They walked in.

They came out.

"Axel? Do you need a …cough drop?" Axel just shook his head and followed the blond out, silently, keeping his eyes trained in front of him. Roxas smiled and rubbed the redhead's arm comfortingly. _–gigglesnort- I learned a lot about what makes you piss your pants, Axel._ "Come on; let's get you something to drink."

* * *

Roxas sipped on his taro, eyeing the older boy across the booth from him with trepidation and slight amusement. "Better?"

The redhead put down the cup of coffee and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "I'm cool. We will never speak of this again." Roxas couldn't help but smile as Axel took calming breaths. Who knew a little haunted walk-through would get to him? "So," he cleared his throat in an attempt to escape the embarrassing attention. "You having fun?"

"Loads." Roxas smirked around his giant straw.

_So much for the change of subject. _"Well," _at the expense of my dignity,_ "that's good." He took a good look at Roxas. This kid was so perfect. _Can anyone be so beautiful and so …chill to be around? It's like everything you want in a friend …but that you get to kiss. _Roxas noticed the faint smile on his face, so he looked to the first thing to divert his thoughts. "What's that you're drinking?"

"Taro. Bubble tea. Wanna try?" The boy held out the tall cup towards him. He sipped the purple liquid. It was sweet and creamy, like a milkshake. A bubble made its way into him mouth. "What's that black stuff?" he asked, chewing it and looking at the bottom of the cup.

"Tapioca."

"Which is?"

"Fish eye balls." Axel choked and reached for the napkins. "I'm joking! I'm joking!" Roxas laughed. "It's just… jelly." He shrugged and Axel narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong? Don't like fish?"

"I like fish fine. Especially when lying in pieces on rice and seaweed. It's the gelatinous ocular muscles I'd like to stay clear of."

_Lying in pieces on rice?_ "Sushi? You like sushi?"

"Who doesn't like sushi?" he laughed. "Other than the people who've never tried sushi."

"What's your favourite?"

Axel scratched the back of his head in thought. "Hmm, I'd have to say… smoked salmon with mango." He nodded. "It's meaty and juicy." Axel just _had_ to wink for good measure. "I dunno. I'm not too picky. What about you?"

"Oh, off the top of my head," Roxas looked at the dilapidated spackle ceiling of the café. "Caterpillar, spider, Philadelphia, California and (non-spicy) dynamite rolls," he listed. "Oh! And deep-fried yam rolls. Those are _sooo_ good~!"

Axel raised his eyebrows. "You know your sushi."

"What can I say? I like to eat." Roxas grinned cheekily. The way to a man's heart was 95% of the time, through his stomach. So offering his preference on a shared kind of dish was a sure fire way to strike a good note.

"That's good to know. What do you say we get out of here, maybe walk around and then I can pick your brain on any Western cuisine you'd like to eat tonight?"

Roxas sipped the last bits of tapioca. "Let's do it." A walk. That might be… nice.

* * *

"I've never been on a Ferris Wheel before!" Roxas said happily, climbing into the basket. Axel laughed. Their walk had turned into a stroll along a mini amusement park. And the way Roxas was staring up at the lighted ride in awe, Axel just had to drag him into the line.

The operator was ushering people into their carts so they were still midway into the air. Roxas looked out the bubblegum-pink window into the pastel-stained sky. Axel watched as the pink, orange and magenta hues played with the blue lights in the boy's eyes. He found his insides fluttering when Roxas smiled into the distance.

The redhead would've basked in the temporary moment when Roxas couldn't see him gawking, if it weren't for the three pairs of scathing looks from the adjacent compartment. He pretended not to have noticed and kept looking out the window, all the while feeling the stares fixed on him. Axel had a choice; he could either act cool, keep things platonic between him and the blond until the ride was over and be all cas'; or he could flip the onlookers the bird, not give a shit and ravish the hell out of the boy as obscenely as he wanted.

"Everything's so pretty from up here." Indeed, their basket was at its peak, homophobic bastards at the descent. Axel leaned forward from his seat and kissed Roxas softly on the lips.

"Beautiful." Roxas was clearly enjoying himself; any sort of controversy would just ruin the moods. So no matter how much it bugged him to rub the assholes' noses in the reality of homosexuality, he'd let the jerks look all they want and keep things as innocent as he could. Until the ride was over.

Roxas was not naive. He knew what the older man was thinking: _opportunity._ And Axel had just kissed him, so no doubt what he wanted wasn't far off in the redhead's mind. Roxas looked as enticing as he possibly could. Eyes became dreamier; smile became softer; motions became more delicate; and he found himself tilting his head a little more when he looked at Axel. It was decided. Not like he wanted it now, but at that moment, Roxas made a promise to himself: he was gonna have the man he wanted tonight.

_How is it that he just became even sexier?_ Axel questioned while smiling back at the boy. _He's not making it very easy to stay non-physical. Even crossing his legs looks sexy from here. How is that possible?_

Roxas sensed the flicker of _something_ in Axel's eyes. _Perfect._ Roxas daintily leaned back against the wall of the compartment, dropping his shoulders and not breaking eye contact. With any luck, the redhead would join him on his side of the basket and make it swing ~

They were nearing the nine o'clock position, and Axel was itching for some contact. He shifted in his seat to see the guys in the next basket turning their heads every 5 seconds. _What the hell is their problem?_ He tried to look as indifferent in front of both them and Roxas. _It's like their waiting for me to do something. _

The next basket descended, leaving them at the top. _And I can't do anything now; Roxas will definitely pick up the pattern of me kissing him at the peak of the ride and get the wrong idea. _Roxas smiled so sweetly, and Axel returned it. _This is bullshit._

_

* * *

_

"Hey Roxas, wanna go in there?" Axel pointed to a small cubicle with a red, knee-length, velvet curtain.

"A photo booth?" Roxas raised an eyebrow as Axel led him off the wiry stairs. "Don't you think it's a little cliché?" He grinned.

"Of course." Axel dragged him across the pathway, past the people waiting in line, past the carnival suit-wearing old men selling hot dogs, and past the mothers' turning their children away from their clasped hands. "After you, milady." He pulled back the curtain, stooped down to eye-level, and held out his hand to usher Roxas in.

The boy laughed. "Why thank you, kind sir…?" And he stepped inside. When Axel followed, the two were faced with an interesting discovery: there was one stool. Knowing what _that _would imply, Axel smiled flirtatiously, and tapped the metal seat for Roxas like a gentleman.

Placing the appropriate amount of change in the slot, they took one normal picture with Roxas smiling naturally, and Axel leaning down to his shoulder and ..well, smirking at the camera. Then Roxas found a cool neon lighted frame which Roxas looked at Axel for. (Secretly because the older man's eyes seemed to reflect the green glow in the screen.) The redhead ended up looking at Roxas too, creating a semi-candid, not-so-stiff-looking shot. They found a background with flames, which elicited an all-out shit-eating smile of power from the older man. The camera flashed (even though that was terribly redundant) and Roxas face-palmed.

For the last picture, they decided on a nightly, city-like background, where a heart-shaped light could be seen in the corner and skyscrapers creating different levels in the background. Axel fixed a strand of his hair and prepared to bend his knees to accommodate the blond's shortness. Then out of the corner of his eye and through a sliver past the velvet curtain, he swore he could see a garbage can hurling its way towards the booth.

"Ready, Axel?" Dropping his knees, he cradled Roxas' head in his arms. A light engulfed them and Axel blocked the velvet covered metal with his upper arm. It felt back out to the street with a clatter.

"Rox, are you alright?" Blue eyes, filled with shock looked back up at him. Roxas could only nod, shakily.

Something snapped. Perhaps it was the big blue eyes that got to him, or perhaps the unpleasant shock that filled his left pinky and ring finger when the object hit his funny bone. It was incomprehensible, but in a blind rage, Axel threw open the scruffy carpet of a tapestry and looked for the culprits. Garbage cans don't just _fly_.

Lo and behold: there stood the three bastards from the ride. There was a short platinum blond, wearing a black and white striped shirt and grey pants, an orange-haired boy in a simple red shirt and baggy dark wash jeans, and a tall strawberry blond in the middle of the two, in rather tight white wash jeans… and a _really_ nice leather jacket. They were near their age, the leader not looking more than seventeen. All of them stared at the redhead with disgust, as if he and Roxas were having sex in the booth. Axel scowled at the trash can on its side, leaking the disturbed waste into the air. "What the hell is this?"

"Fags like you belong in the garbage."

* * *

_**Wow. I didn't want 2000+ chapters so I split this in two as well.  
AkuRoku day is in three hours for me so HAPPY AKUROKU DAY ~!  
Here's the first part of their date :]  
Haha, homophobes.**_

_**OMG It's so hot in Canada Dx**_

My beta went to sleep, so part of this chapter is in it's raw form xP  
I'll accept your honest crit.  
_**Review please :]**_

_**YHS  
**__**xDelfin**_


	28. XXVIII' Date Me! P2: Girls & Guys

_**28.**_

_**An hour after the invasion**__**…**_

"And cut and paste and send and we are done!" Xion fist pumped the air.

"Great. Hello extra credit~" Sora slouched into the large, marshmallow-y couch. He absolutely loved the feeling of having something big, weighing over head, being DONE.

"We better." Kairi mumbled from the kitchen. This project wasn't half as annoying as being paired up with her most goodie-goodies of friends. All week prior she had been constantly nagged with phrases like, 'let's get it over and one with,' and 'come on, we'll get bonus marks for submitting it in early,' and 'it'll free up your weekened~.' That last one repeated over and over in Kairi's mind in the same sing-song tune Xion had first said it in. _And here we are._ "Hey Riku, you're out of lemonade!"

Riku and Sora were sitting on opposite ends of the couch with Xion in between. After cooking enough French toast to feed a small country, he had sat on the right most part of the three-cushioned couch, listening to all the girls and Sora talk about the project, school and everything else he was not in the mood for. "There should be another bottle on top of the fridge." He replied deadpanned, his head resting against his bent right arm. Namine gave him a sorry glance from the chair diagonal from them.

"Thanks, 'Ku." Kairi extended her arm past the stainless steel body of the fridge, but couldn't grasp it. She went on her tippy-toes, yet the bottle still remained out of reach. She groaned, her fingers flitting for the 2L container of the sweet citrus refreshment… And then a strong arm appeared next to her, grabbing the neck of the bottle and handing it down to her.

"Oh!" she said with surprise. "Thank you." Kairi smiled kindly.

"No problem." Loz said shortly and continued to wash the dishes at the sink behind her.

She poured her and a second glass with lemonade and walked back to the living room. "Hey, are we going to Kadaj's thing tonight?" Kairi addressed the whole room, giving Namine the extra glass and sitting next to her.

"I think I can go. Lemme call home and see what's what." Xion felt around her black sweater. "Gah! Kai, where's my phone?"

"I think I saw it in the car. Here," she tossed her the car keys, "go check." The black-haired girl gave her thanks, shut the laptop off, and scrambled towards the front door in fear of her cellular device.

Riku looked towards Sora. He was practically lying down on the massive cushion, squaring his knees with the couch and floor. He looked so cute; eye closed, worn out from working, and nearly melting into the creamy whiteness of his spot on the couch.

"Hey, Riku. Want a popsicle?"

"You mean my popsicle out of my own fridge? Sure."

"Oh! Sora want one too please!" Kairi smiled at how cute the boy had perked up to say that (in third person, too!) before she went back into the kitchen.

Kadaj came thundering down the stairs excitedly, when the front door opened. "I dunno everything yet, but I'll call you when I find out. I'll prolly stay the night with Namine and Kairi, okay daddy? Okay, love you." Xion shut her phone and pocketed it. She suddenly saw the older man at the foot the stairs, staring at her blankly. "Oh! Hi."

No response came, which made her feel awkward. He had silver hair which concluded that he was related to Riku. But he was just _standing _there, stark-still, clad in slacks, a simple V-neck and a long-sleeved shirt underneath. And though they appeared to be simple, they looked _expensive._ The attire and the vacant look on his sharp face intimidated her. "Um, I'm Xion, Riku's friend. You are?"

"That's Kadaj, Riku's older brother." Kairi said with a couple popsicle sticks between her fingers.

"Please, don't remind me."

The girl ignored the youngest Crescent on the couch. "He just dropped by today with their two older brothers on break from school," she continued. "We were in ninth the year after he graduated."

Xion nodded, silently making a small 'o' shape with her lips and turned back to Kadaj. "It's nice to meet you," she said politely, extending her hand. What she did not expect was the following:

Kadaj swiftly strode off the last step of the stair and took her hand… to his lips. « Enchante, mademoiselle. Vous êtes très envoûtante, » he said very softly and gave a subtle wink.

Xion _blushed._ Both she and Kairi stared at the man widely, the other four not being within earshot. They both gulped softly, Kairi not taking her eyes away from the greens locking with the blues . « Merci, monsieur. Enchantée de vous rencontrer. » She bowed her head slightly, briefly closing her eyes while doing so, and then looked back up at the taller man.

Xion was ready to take her hand back and follow Kairi into the living room with the rest of her friends, when Kadaj tightened his hold on her palm and became more like _Kadaj_.. « Voulez vous coucher avec moi, chérie? »

_**-SLAP!-**_

Riku, Sora and Namine looked over to see Xion standing in front of Riku's brother, on his knees and holding his face. "Ooh, feisty. Je l'aime."

« Dégage, cochon. » And Xion strode back into the living room without a second glace.

"What just happened?" Sora asked while unwrapping the bright red popsicle.

Loz answered, drying his hands with a dishcloth from behind the couch. "Kadaj was hitting on someone he'd just met, and a girl finally put him in his place." On the floor, clutching his face. "I must say, Xion. High five." The black haired girl, leaning on the wall, smiled back, pleasantly.

She then proceeded to converse with everybody about what was to happen that night, ignoring Kadaj's unhelpful (innuendo-laced) comments from the kitchen from where he was fishing out ice. Everyone else downstairs talked about the parties that used to be held by the Crescent brothers, during their eminent reign in their very high school. They all laughed about the time 13-year old Riku had accidentally gotten drunk.

Loz had guys in a van mixing drinks at the party he threw the summer he graduated. And when 16-year-old Kadaj is whisked away by a 21-year-old blonde, the fruity chick drink of hers found its way into Riku's adolescent fingers. And by 'chick', it means strawberry, lime and a whole lot of vodka, which slipped into the boy's stomach undetected.

It wasn't until Yazoo found the poor boy struggling to stand up straight, that anyone found out what had gotten into him. But after close analysis of Riku's breath and the broken glass next to him, the second child gave Riku some water, put him to sleep in the back of their car, smacked Kadaj up-side the head, and told the blonde dancing with him about a mysterious rash her partner had, thus leaving the younger silveret to lose his virginity a whole year later.

Yes, everybody laughed at Loz's impression of Riku tripping over a flat surface, especially Kairi. But when everybody was about to look at the star of the anecdote, she swiftly brought up an even more comedic pastime of Kadaj's graduating-year party. It involved Kadaj, a stage, a mic and H.O.T's Full of Happiness. And whiskey. Can't forget the whiskey.

Everybody in the room seemed to enjoy the story, except for Riku, who was staring. The seventeen-year-old seemed to have been in the process of putting the blue-raspberry treat into his mouth, when a large distraction in the form of a cherry popsicle beside him being devoured heartily. Indeed, Sora was licking, nipping and sucking on the bottom of the bar so it wouldn't drip. He failed, however from getting the sticky juice on his ring and middle fingertips. Passing the wooden stick to his other hand, he brought the digits to his lips, and sucked on them slowly.

Well, everything to Riku at this point was done _slowly_.

It wasn't until Kadaj unceremoniously plopped himself between him and the object of his fantasy, did he snap out of slow-motion mode and bounce back into regular play. By then, Riku'd had enough.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Riku said rather irritably. If it weren't for his brothers who then left the door open for Kairi to follow, he and Sora would be going at it like bunnies. He shot up, shoved the nearly slushy blue treat into Xion's hands and started for the stairs. He passed Yazoo at the bottom, clad in a white and sliver-lined bathrobe, and towel-drying his hair.

"Oh, I wish you'd told me," he said in that smooth tone of his. "I just used all the hot water."

"Even better." The reply was almost instantaneous, as he disappeared upstairs, down the hall.

Yazoo just shrugged and started for the kitchen, when he spotted a pair of blue eyes in his peripheral vision. Lowering the towel to his neck, he saw the petite blond perched daintily on the black chair. She looked very pretty just sitting there, so the silveret faintly smiled and nodded as a greeting and continued into the kitchen.

Back in the sitting room, Kairi scoffed. "You think having a hard-on around people is awkward? Try running down the stairs without a bra."

* * *

_**Teeheeheehee ^^  
Why yes, I like KadajxXion, YazooxNamine and KairixLoz  
I found it cool since both groups are technically the same person xP  
Uwahhh~ Kadaj and more French. (L)  
I feel bad for Riku. Cock-block xP  
GAH! I need to get through this day! It's slowing me down x-x**_

Kadaj & Xion: Une petite revision, s'il vous plait? :D

YHS  
xDelfin 


	29. XXIX' Date Me! P3: Axel & Roxas Fall

_**What's sad is that I actually know people like these =-=**_

_**29.**_

"Fags like you belong in the garbage." The short, orange-haired boy spat disdainfully.

_What the fuck?_ "And shit-for-brains assholes like _you_ belong in their mothers' basements."

"Watch your cock-sucking mouth." The platinum blond, standing on the right-most of their little line, said sharply, if not as abrasively.

"Mind your own fucking business before I'll have you spitting out teeth!"

The boys on each side snarled and Axel was about to march across the ten feet of grass between them to 'pop 'em some'. Then the blond boy, presumably the oldest, stepped forward. "Now now, I think we all know we could beat the shit out of you in 3 seconds, since we have you outnumbered, but let's be reasonable." A smug grin came across that pasty face of his. Axel wanted to punch it in, just to make it look better in a different colour. "I think you're with that boy because you couldn't get any better."

The tall boy, damn near close to Axel's height, stepped closer to the redhead, shooting out 'egotistical' in every possible direction. "I think…you just couldn't get pussy today." The two lackeys sniggered from behind him. He pulled out his wallet, slipping out a 4x6 photo of probably the sexiest girls Axel had ever seen.

The woman was slender, with modestly curvy hips. Admittedly, she had a boner-stimulating bust size, skillfully framed in a loose, grey shirt. To top it off, she had a helluva pretty face. She had one of those faces that could switch back and forth from sexy to cute. Her long, straight ebony hair brought out the fierce blue-green colour in her eyes. What sexual male creature wouldn't want _that_?

"Pretty, isn't she? I'll give you her number and you can probably get some tonight, if you wanted."

Upside-down answer to question above: Axel or ləxv (more or less).

"What the hell is your problem?" He growled and grabbed the blond by the scuff of his jacket and lifted him up the 2 inches their heights differed.

"HEY!" The two others raced forward, only to be halted by their leader's outstretched hand. He had a careless smile on his ugly face, which made Axel want to shoot him between the ribcage.

"You have five seconds to get your face out of my sight, before I rip it clear off your head." Axel threw him back to the ground, and the boy staggered back. "And take this whore with you." Axel picked up the wallet that had fallen to the grass and chucked it at the blond head.

"You think we can't take you-?" The youngest stepped forward with a snarl.

"Leave it, Ellis."

"But-!"

"We'll let him off for now." He stood up and dusted himself off. "We can't just go around kicking the shit out of _every _faggot. We must leave some of them to turn straight and get some girl knocked up."

This guy was _beyond _twisted.

Axel was about to knock him back to the ground, perhaps kick a few teeth in, when Roxas appeared at his arm, holding him back. "Axel, let's go."

The youngest looked on the verge of puking at the sight of them but then his leader took him by the shoulder. "We're done." He nonchalantly walked away with the boy, as if they had only bumped into each other, while the young one threw one last acid glare towards Roxas and Axel.

"Next time, you're in a body bag." The blond left over declared icily and pointed a finger at the redhead.

"Silver, that's enough!" And they disappeared into the crowds of people, who Axel finally noticed had accumulated.

Roxas, who had seen the shouting attract the onlookers, pulled Axel by the elbow to a portion of the area less populated.

Axel didn't look any more calm than he had 2 minutes ago. His shoulders were tense. His fists were twitching, as if ready to strangle the three of those boys' necks. He had the eyes of the devil, fixated on the clumps of yellow grass in front of them. Once they sat down on a bench, Roxas broke the silence. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he replied tiredly. "I'm just sorry that this happened."

"Those guys were jerks." Roxas tried but Axel showed no signs of being comforted. "Ax, it's over, let's forget about them." Roxas smiled at the man, hoping for reciprocation. It was received little by little, with encouraging pats on the arm.

"Alright." The redhead managed a small smile. He took a deep breath to calm himself and looked back at the boy with a warmer smile. "So, what now?"

Happy he was somewhat back to his positive disposition, Roxas beamed. "It's nearly 7:00. What did you have planned for the evening portion of our day?" _Roxas, get your head out of the gutter_, he told himself. _Now is not the time._

Axel seemed to have remembered something, since he snapped his two fingers and said, "Oh! Right. Do you want dinner now?"

"Yeah, sure." They left the sitting area and discussed what to eat. Though Roxas was a little skeptical as to why the man got it to go; even more when they headed for the car.

* * *

"It's not that I care where we eat. I'm just curious." Roxas took his seat in the truck with the large meat-lovers pizza on his lap.

"Rox, this whole day has been put together for your surprise. The dinner portion and _location_ is no different." Axel said proudly and pulled out into the street. Ten minutes later, the truck entered a wooded area and drove through a cleared path, some branches sweeping past their windows.

"I'm not eating outside. I'm not a chipmunk."

Axel laughed. "No arboreal dinning. I'll keep that in mind."

The sun had started going down, so the place looked even more dark and ominous. The trail didn't look frequently used, like this place hadn't been discovered by many people. Where were they going? Why were they going so far away from civilization? Was there a slightest chance that Roxas' life was in danger? Perhaps Axel making the day as pleasant as possible was just a clever rouse to gain his trust! _I've been watching too much CSI…_ Roxas spotted the orangey sky beyond the sparse branches ahead. Branches of trees that seemed to be getting smaller as they drove on…

"Axel..?" They reached a small clearing when the man made a three-point turn. Cautiously, they backed up, parking a good 5 feet from the edge… of the cliff. "Where are we?" He asked trying to look around in his seat.

"Get out. Don't drop the pizza." Axel jested, taking out the plastic bag with their soda and a mini-duffle bag (because a bigger one would have made Roxas run for his life.) The blond sighed and manoeuvred his way out of his seatbelt and tree-constricted door. He got to the back of the truck to find Axel taking a thick, navy-blue blanket from the duffle bag and spreading it over the back. "Okay," he said when the back had turned into a 'seat'. "Sit."

"This is where we're going to eat?"

"Yup."

"Right here in the woods?"

"Yup."

"In front of trees?" Axel turned around to face the trees separating them from the cliff… and pulled one out. "Are those fake?" Roxas asked in amazement.

"Well, I'm not going to uproot baby trees just for you, Rox. Plus, the view is nicer, isn't it?" _View?_ Roxas stepped around the side to where he was supposed to sit and saw a misty horseshoe. By then, Axel had pulled out a couple more synthetic trees and the bulk of the falls could be seen clearly.

"Wow…" Roxas said with an exhale. This was definitely 'breath-taking' scenery. The falls were _right there. _He could almost feel the spray of the water. Everything was basically white, it made his insides feel light. And of course above the water was the sky. -The bright ty-dye-shirt sky with fat, cumulous fluff.

It was so different here. Obviously it wasn't crowded-looking like when you see it from ground level. It wasn't interrupted by tall apartments and street lamps and stuff. It was just sky. All sky. _Now you know what all those landscape-painting artists were looking at and thought 'huh, that'd be nice to hang on my wall.'_

"Hey, don't drop the pizza." Axel laughed, taking a seat next to him. Roxas put the box behind them as the redhead handed him a Sprite. It fizzed as he opened it.

"Axel.. This is beautiful."

_That seems to be the reoccurring theme when I'm with you. OH NO. OH NO, NO, NO, You did not just think that!_ Axel groaned to himself. "Yeah it is." He lifted the can of coke to his lips to make sure his thoughts didn't accidentally slip out. "I like nature. I don't like camping in it or taking hikes in it, but I love watching it."

"Yeah?" Roxas smiled. "I like the sunset. It's the only time of the day that watching the sun doesn't _blind_ you. And it leads to the night-time." The boy swung his leg while keeping the other propped against his chest.

"You a night person?"

"Yeah." And just like that, those scandalous thoughts were back. "So! Let's eat?" Roxas opened the pizza box between them and they took a slice each.

* * *

After twenty minutes, a whole pizza eaten, and a lengthy debate on whether that guy in the secret ending _was_ Light as a shinigami or not, Roxas was getting nervous. He knew what he wanted to do, but getting there was a lot more difficult; dropping that initial sign that said 'Hey buddy, I want you on me tonight.'

He never expected to be so attracted to one person, but his senses where choking on the man's pheromones that were radiating in every direction. Just a few minutes ago, Axel had some sauce on his finger, so he licked it. Roxas nearly fell of the truck (which would then have him roll off the cliff.)

Roxas was so antsy; the tiniest feather could push him over the edge. The theme from Mario Kart's Baby Park started playing. "Wah! Oh.." Initial shock from the vibrations in his pocket subsided and he laughed, then looked at his caller ID. "Umm, do you mind?" He motioned behind them to the man beside him as to excuse himself from the fine moment they were just having.

"No, go ahead." Axel smiled.

"Thanks." He got up. "I'll just be a minute." He rounded the corner of the truck, past the Axel's side, opened the passenger side door and climbed into his seat.

Axel let out a deep exhale.

This was bad. Roxas was bored. He thought taking this boy to such a secluded place that no one's ever been with an awesome view would make _some _sort of an impression on him, but no. Roxas has been quiet, not making eye contact, and not even looking around. At least _that_ would explain his silence, but no! –He's been staring at his soda can for the past twenty minutes! This was bad.

_This is what happens when you do something different for someone else; you don't know if you're doing it right, you haven't seen any other person's reaction to gauge _this person's_ reaction, you're put in this very vulnerable position and 'vulnerable' does not fly with you! You've probably taken out hundreds of different people. Both girls and guys (granted, nearly all had similar personalities, but they were all still different)._

_You had a routine. Where did that go? You've nailed this routine down ages ago: 1) Are they a cluber or a raver? 2) Are they stilettos or converse? 3) Are they a highball or hard liquor? 4) Are they grains or meat? (Or in some cases, neither?) 5) Anarchist or conformist?_

_These five and many others are there to guide you to what sort of date you take them out on. Ho, ho! But Roxas. He likes Big Bang. His shoes are typically the same generic brand that is one colour and doesn't _look_ cheap. What he drinks is a little grey right now, which is weird because that's usually one of the first things you find out. He can eat ANYTHING. He's not too much of a rebel but doesn't even know what is 'in' to be following it. He likes Big Bang. _

_The system has failed, the computers are smoking. Big bright red letters are flashing in your mind saying ERROR! ERROR! Asking a guy like Roxas out was stepping out of your comfort zone, and you know never to do that again!_

"Axel?"

The older man looked behind him. "Hey, Roxy!" The blond was just standing there, with an unreadable expression on his face. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I just…"

"Yeah…?" Roxas stepped closer to him, cell phone clenched tightly in his right hand.

"I just need to be sure of something." _Sure of what?_ Axel wondered, frowning and his answer came immediately. Roxas leaned in and kissed him.

* * *

_**Whenever I mention yaoi to someone new, they always tell me 'but I'm cool with it, I've got gay friends/siblings/WHATEVER.' And then, I'm all: "… okay. Good for you." =-= ALWAYS. "I've got gay friends. I've got a gay sister. My dog is gay." …Well, maybe not that last one. But GUH!**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin **_


	30. XXX' Date Me! P3: Sora & Roxas Ready?

_**(A/N) I LIIIIIIVE ~! 8D**_

_**30.**_

In a field, south of Steeles Avenue, a boy was wandering among the throngs of dancing people. He was absently sipping the drink in his hand as he watched the crowd bouncing to the beat of some techno song (admittedly, they all sounded nearly the same to him). This was probably the first party he'd _ever _been to. Sora leaned against the smooth bark of a tree.

"Hey."

Sora turned around and returned the greeting. "Hey." Riku walked towards him. Both of them had been dragged the current location courtesy of Kadaj.

"Having fun?"

"Yeah." Silence. "Your brothers know how to throw a party."

"It comes with the going off to college, I guess." Riku himself wasn't really a party person like his brothers, but he, for some strange reason, liked getting lost in a mass of people he didn't really know or talk to regularly.

"Yeah, probably." Sora smiled, and they both slid down the trunk to a sitting position on the ground. "What's that you're drinking?"

"Manhattan. You?"

"Shirley Temple."

"Black?"

"Of course."

Wow. Riku was surprised. Sora, of all people, drank? And furthermore, something with a percentage? They've talked about their parents drinking wine at dinner and stuff when they were kids. Then when the two of them snuck into Sephiroth's liquor cabinet once in seventh grade to have a sip… Sora nearly died.

Even a tiny, tiny sip burns all the way down your throat when you're 12 and trying to sample something caramel-brown. Riku would have to keep an eye on the boy tonight. _And_ the red, plastic cup in his hand.

"D'you think they'll get in trouble for all this noise?"

"I doubt it. Yazoo probably sweet-talked the country club owners into not reporting them."

Sora looked at the silveret. "Club owners?"

"We're at a golf course."

"…"

Riku laughed. "You seriously thought there were just patches of sand, water and green, green grass here for no reason?"

"Water? There's water?" Sora asked excitedly.

"I think I saw a stream back there."

"Ooo! Let's go for a walk!" He jumped up and held his hand out for the older boy.

* * *

"Wow, it's so sparkly."

"Sora, those are the stars."

"The stars make the water pretty and the water brings the stars closer to you and me." _Wow, that was cheesy. Alcohol makes you cheesy. Hehe, wine and cheese… _"I think you should take this away from me" Sora handed Riku his cup, grinning awkwardly.

Riku knew that He had to do it, even though he didn't know how Sora would react. It was practicallykilling him on the inside, cell by cell. He needed to get this out right now. "Hey Sora?" The boy turned to face Riku in reply. "Are you sick?"

"No."

"Hungry?"

"Not really."

"Secretly in love with Kairi?"

"What? No!"

Riku smiled. "Good." Sora was pulled by the arm so smoothly, that the lips placed against his were nothing short of… sweet. Whether it was alcohol, or the moment, or the fact Riku is just such an _amazing_ kisser, Sora nearly melted inside. His heart thumped in his ears, the warmth on his lips, filled his insides and turned them to mush. Going from such a casual moment to such an intense moment was overwhelming ...and entirely welcomed!

It wasn't even hot and heavy, wandering fingers, 'I-gotta-bend-you-over-and-do-things-that'll-make-nuns-cry' kind of kiss. In fact, their lips were barely moving. But it made Sora... fly, on the inside. It exhilarated him and well, let's not deny it, excited him.

Riku pulled away slowly, his aqua eyes fluttering open. Sora did the same with his numb lips slightly parted. After a while the brunet cleared his throat. –_Ahem_- "Oh…" he said, dumbly. Riku watched him silently, as he turned to the side and rocked back and forth on his feet.

Never before had Sora longed for such human contact. He might have been a little tipsy at the moment but a clear thought rang like a gong in his mind: He wanted it. The fire between them this morning and the subtle electricity in their glances all day and _everyday_ _prior_ –he wanted all of it and infinite times more; over and over and _over_ until he died of multiple organ failure.

"Let's try that again." Sora said breathlessly as he turned back to the silveret faster than it took to blink and gave the older boy a hard kiss. Riku staggered back a little at the force but eventually wrapped his arms around Sora's waist, bringing their bodies together. Mouths opened, tongues swirled, fingers clenched and goose bumps arose. They danced around on the spot for a while, not breaking apart. "Mm." It felt so good to be held. Sora was overwhelmed by the need to rip off everything that was in between their skin. He wanted to be as close to the silveret as human bodies could.

If humans could fuse themselves to another person's body, he would imagine it to be the most sensual thing he could ever do with Riku. _…huh. That was a weird thought._ Luckily it was overcome by the mass of other sensations whirling about his self. His mind was so excited and lazy at the same time. The warmth beneath Riku's sleeves made him disoriented and alert. The small puffs of breath on his skin made him shiver and sweat. And it was all _sooo gooood…_

Riku let his lips go and gasped for air. Sora opened his eyes, following suit, and trying to steady himself against the silveret's body. "D'you wanna get out of here?" Riku asked.

"And do what?" Sora had infinite scenarios lined up in his mind about exactly _what_, but he preferred it to be incredibly in sync with Riku's ideas.

Riku's hand snaked around the brunet's neck and he pressed their foreheads together, whispering with his eyes fluttering closed. "We could go back to my house and pick up where we left off this morning." Sora's eyes shot open at the suggestion for he knew precisely what would have happened about five minutes later, had they not been interrupted.

And that idea suddenly scared him.

"Umm…" So, wait. He could think about it, but when the actual idea was proposed to him, he'd recoil in fear? "I…" He stepped back, away from the very comforting heat that frightened him. Sora looked up to see Riku's eyes watching him with concern. "I'm sorry," he shook his head. "I just… um."

"We don't… _have to_." Riku tried to amend. "Like…"

"No, no!" He waved his hands between them like windshield wipers then brought one to his forehead. "It's just that I…" Sora took a deep breath and willed himself to look back at Riku. "Can you hang on for one sec?" He turned and began to walk away when a hand grabbed hold of his.

"Sora."

The brunet forced a little smile and kissed Riku lightly. "Riku…" He murmured comfortingly. "Keep thinking what you're thinking." Lovely blue-green eyes simply stared back at him as he pet the silver locks gently (and persuasively).

The boy skipped down the little hills of grass, somewhat toward the rest of the party until Riku was more or less out of sight. Panting, he forced his hand into his pocket and pulled out the rounded, silver device with TELUS printed on the front.

He held down '2' and waited for an answer. It took four and a half tones before the familiar voice answered.

* * *

_**(A/N: No real POV. And they really are talking very fast and short.)**_

_**-Time is now aligned-**_

"Hey."

"Hey, it's me." Silence followed Sora's redundant clarification. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing."

"How's your date?"

"Good, how's yours?"

"Good."

Roxas heard music in the background, being in the quiet of Axel's truck. "Where are you?"

"On a hill, in a golf course overlooking a neon, pulsating crowd. You?"

"On a cliff in Niagara overlooking the Falls." Naturally.

"Oh." Sora nodded to no one in particular. "Well, just wanted to check in." That's right, play the older brother card. Again.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Okay so…" Roxas said skillfully covering how much he dreaded to return to his awkward situation with a certain redhead on the other side of the green, metal frames.

"Hey, Roxas!" Sora blurted.

"Yeah?" He responded rather quickly.

"Remember when we were thirteen and we were so against having a bedtime at that age?" Roxas smiled. "We snuck out past 9:30, went into the kitchen and went straight for the left over brownies?"

"Leon put mini marshmallows in them. Yeah."

"Then we heard a noise." Sora said dramatically. "And that was the time when we were really into _Mystery Hunters _so we went to check it out."

"I was Araya, you were Christina. Yeap."

The older brother's face fell at that little detail, but still he continued. "So the bathroom door was open; the one that has an entrance to the hallway _aaand_ to the master's bedroom." He held the vowel for emphasis.

"I know the layout of our house, Sora." Roxas deadpanned.

"And that'sss…" he hissed into the phone, "when we found them." Dun-dun-DUUUUUN~!

"We thought they were wrestling."

"We thought Leon was hurting Cloud."

"It wasn't until we asked Riku, did we actually come to fully comprehend what happened that night."

"There was a lot of grasping the bed sheets." Sora went on.

"And possible denting of walls." Roxas added.

"A lot of dresser items fell to the floor."

"I thought Leon was going to push him right out of that corner window!"

"And they finished on the floor…"

"…I never vacuumed in there again." Roxas shook his head.

"Then a soap dish slipped off the basin and clattered against the drain. –An incident proved in succeeding analyses." He remembered the close inspection they did of the slipperiness of items strewn about the sink for many days after.

"Heads turned. Quizzical eyebrows tightened."

"Dual narrowed sight-lines of scrutiny zeroed in on the bathroom door, which may or may not have been left open more than 45°, which cast an orange spot light on the tips of a head of brown and a head of blond hair."

"We dashed to my room," since Cloud had left his rentals in Roxas' for the week, "like there was a sale on Hello Panda..."

"...And we played dead underneath the covers."

"Five minutes later, Leon arrived at the door to check on us." Sora said airily.

"We were silent."

"We were still."

"I held my breath for the longest minute and a half."

"We were safe." The brunet's voice sounded relieved as if he was experiencing the scenario all over again. "Leon closed the door and went back to their room."

"It was a quiet night." Roxas concluded. "We slept, fully prepared to play dumb in the morning. But it was _that very morning_..."

"...When we saw it." Sora finished. "Just lying there in the middle of the table in plain sight!"

"The bag of half-eaten brownies, left in the bathroom and found by Cloud."

Sora mused. "Good times."

"Yeap." Roxas smiled at how foolish they'd been. It had only been almost four years ago and yet it felt longer. They'd gotten _so_ much better at sneaking around. Well, Roxas had. It amazed him at how much they had changed over the past few years; they weren't rosy-cheeked kids racing to get to the swings first. They weren't elementary kids trying to bring the coolest pencil case to school. They weren't cheery eighth graders trying to get the hottest guy to eat lunch with you so you could _call_ them your 'boyfriend'. They weren't just kids anymore.

What they want has changed. Who they like has changed. What they do to get them... matters.

"So, Roxas. About ... the brownies." Pause for effect. "We always said we'd talk about it when we were ready to have... brownies." Unbeknownst to each other, they both swallowed. "And that there were a lot of things that needed to happen before we had..." Sora looked around to see if anyone was within ear shot of this massively troubling conversation, "brownies." He could feel his face heating up at his own absurdity, but this needed to be said. He needed to talk about this. "Rox?"

The blond took a deep breath. "Umm..." What could he say? "Do you want to?"

"I do."

"Is he... nice to you?" he asked, awkwardly.

Sora was confused. "What?"

"Like..." Roxas sighed. "He's not pressuring you?"

"Oh! No, nothing like that."

"Okay." Roxas was at a loss for what to say next, but tried to keep it going. "Do you trust him?"

"To what?"

"Just... in general. Are you confident that Riku will put you first, umm… treat you with respect and... pfft, I dunno." So much crap had just been pulled out of his ass. But Roxas was a major bullshitter so he took stuff from things he'd heard on TV and combined it with what was seemed like common sense to him.

There was a heavy silence after that, which made Roxas furrow his brow. "It _is_ Riku, isn't it?"

"YES, it's Riku!" Sora yelled, probably a little louder than he wanted. "And yes. I trust him. I mean, it's Riku," he explained with a smile, as if it was the ultimate answer. "He's beautiful, and perfect and so good to me-."

"Okay!" Roxas cut him off. "Save the details for when you actually do it." They both laughed.

"Rox, do _you_ think you're ready?" Sora asked, turning the conversation on his brother.

The younger blond glanced out the window at the mass of red hair gently blowing in the early evening wind. He took a deep breath. "I think I am," he replied with the nod. This was a scary step they were taking. But they were taking it because _they _wanted to. "Just have fun." Roxas added. "I know you will, but don't think _too much_. It might ruin it. At the time."

Sora grinned. "I will. You should enjoy yourself too." _You deserve it._ The brothers said their goodbyes shortly after. Roxas looked at his phone, surprised that that profound conversation took no longer than eight minutes. Sora pocketed his phone and set off in the direction where he had left the silveret.

Riku was leaning back on his hands next to the edge of the water, the sound of night bugs singing all around him. The moonlight ghosted in and out of the wispy clouds, revealing different hues of silver in the boy's locks. Sora noticed this and strode down the hill, a broad grin fixed on his face. Silently he approached him, kneeling down on the shadowy grass and embracing the teen from behind.

No words were exchanged as a greeting; just the leaning of one's head on the other's shoulder and the other leaning back into the other's warmth. Sora inhaled the familiar scent, a few silver strands of hair tickling his face. Despite how nervous he'd been a few minutes ago, he'd managed to become very comfortable all of a sudden. After all, it was Riku.

Time had gotten itself lost while Riku pressed Sora's hand more firmly onto his own chest; while Sora's breath steadied when supporting the older youth's back; while Riku felt the brunet's eyelashes fluttering near his cheek; while the two sat there in utter silence, yet making them feel like they were connecting in a less physical way and in a way more celestial, than anything.

Neither knew how long it had been once Sora spoke. "Riku," he said in a silky voice, in an attempt not to disengage completely from this matching sensation. "Let's go somewhere." Slowly, the older boy turned his neck to look at him as he spoke. "Let's go for a walk, get something to eat and maybe, possibly, perchance go back to your room…" he drawled. "For the night."

All the while, he smiled coyly, which inadvertently assured Riku that his feelings were his own. The younger boy wasn't scared (or as scared) of the thought. He trusted Riku. And that made the silveret take a deep breath laced with vaporized exhilaration. Sora was going to give himself to Riku. Tonight. Lacing his fingers with soft brown locks of hair, Riku placed the gentlest kiss on the boy's temple.

Soon, the silveret was standing up and holding his hand out for Sora. "I thought you said you weren't hungry."

"I changed my stomach." Sora replied, to which Riku chuckled at. The pair walked side by side along the miniature rolling hills of the course, the music slowly growing louder and louder, as they would have to bypass the party to get to the parking lot. "I just want something light. Think anything's open still?"

"I'm sure there's someplace out there." They walked around the outskirts of the people throbbing to the beat of 'Phreak.' If his peripherals were correct, he saw Loz dancing with Kairi, who had her side to Xion who directly in front of her was Kadaj.

Riku willed himself not to turn his head to confirm it. Looking in that direction, and possibly making eye contact with the youngest of his older brothers, while appearing to leave with Sora when it was barely 8 o'clock, was just like asking for a thunderous declaration of what they planning to do next. The sky writer would appear within seconds if Kadaj wasn't too smashed to make the call.

Taking the younger's hand, and praying that the late winter evening sky of March would conceal them in its darkness, Riku marched along a tad quicker out of the club's gates and towards the parking lot.

Leaving the raving chaos behind them, Sora sat happily in the passenger seat of Riku's navy blue Toyota.

"I feel like brownies…"

* * *

_**-About 2 seconds after Riku turned away-**_

"Ooh la la ~"

Xion turned away from her dancing partner and looked to where he was smirking. She giggled. She sooo had to tell Kairi about this. As that thought, the song ended and she politely excused herself to get some refreshments. Tapping Kairi on the shoulder, the redhead too, parted from her partner and they both walked away, covering their mouths with their hands.

"Xigbar, my man!" Kadaj spotted his long time friend and gave the ponytailed man a 'gangsta'-greeting. (Complete with conjoining hands, laughing and patting of backs. The cool way, you know?)

"Kadaj, you crazy son of a bitch. How've you been?"

They quickly conversed on why a man his age was still in high school. Something about 'continuing education.' They moved on to other topics, such as: what clubs they've hit this year, what kind of narcotics they've been purchasing, how's the eye…-socket.

"What's Xemnas doing with you?" he asked noticing that they came together. "You guys aren't..." He wiggled his eyebrows to imply what he meant.

"Naw man!" Xigbar laughed and waved his hands in front of him. "_His_ boyfriend's not into this stuff so I dragged him along." He explained.

Kadaj shook his head almost disappointedly. "You couldn't find a girl who'd be willing to look at you and have to be called your date for a couple hours?"

Xigbar laughed at the thinly veiled insult. "Say what?"

"Just look around you." He motioned to the crowd, where indeed, many same-sex couples could be easily picked out. A majority of those were male, while any females were in small groups or with their boyfriends. "We've got tons of guys on guys here. Makes me wonder what happened to the school after we left.

"Your charm must've scared all away."

"We're short of girls."

"Well, so am I! I've stopped trying with girls at our school. Nowadays, it's like throwing a hotdog down a hallway."

* * *

_**EDIT [June 23, 2011]: I didn't like the ending the ending, and I found the original one I'd written, so voila ~  
**_

_**Ehh, fail ending. Screw the consistency of my chapters.  
You guys are eating it up anyway, right? X-x. (Oh my, 3800+ words)**_

_**Man, sorry for such a late update. I really have… no excuse. I think.**_

_**Hm, my internet is being screwy.  
****Most hated page: "This web page is not available."  
****aksdjgha;kdjghasdkjgha;dkghadkjghasdlkjh! Drives me insane-r.**_

_**Do I smell a lemon in the next chapter?  
Thank god. That means an earlier update. **_

_**Review and tell me how much you love me :]**_

_**Open question: Is there anyone who actually lives in Toronto and knows these places of which I write? XD**_

_**I love you guys -passes out cookies of love-  
YHS  
xDelfin**_


	31. XXXI' Date Me! P3: Axel & Roxas Lemon

_**Fangirls and fanboys… this story is rated M :]**_

_**And over 3750 words x-x**_

_**My face is so red… ENJOY!**_

_**xDelfin**_

* * *

_**31.**_

And there it was again.

Roxas pressed his lips against Axel's in a soft, delicate manner._ 'I just wanna see...'_

They were both in awkward positions; Roxas not used to kissing downwards towards the sitting redhead, and Axel straining to turn and receive the kiss. _"I think I'm ready." _He replayed himself saying that in his mind before he pulled away without rush; without need.

Both boys inhaled deeply as they stared into each other's eyes. Neither broke the contact as Roxas hovered in front of him. Axel's neck felt like it was made of metal and groaning against its will when he tried to look back up at the blond. He was already straining in a gauche position to receive the kiss; now searching for more, took effort. "Rox." _Do you have any idea of what you do to me when you kiss me?_ The boy simply stood still, a foot away from him, staring at the dirt before his shoes. He didn't look sad or angry or troubled at all. He was just _there._ It wouldn't be surprising if someone were to paint him white and stand him behind glass at The Bay.

Axel refrained from touching his lips with his fingers. It was as though he needed some other form of contact to verify the difference between the touches. (And there was a massive difference.) Axel sighed softly to himself. _I don't know what it is, Roxy. But when you kiss me_, he looked back up to Roxas' face._ I feel like I'm a virgin again. It's... scary. _

"Axel, do you want to fuck me?" _WHAT?_ He screamed on the inside, he barely _breathed _on the outside.

Who knew Roxas was so straightforward? But hey, that was good thing once in a while. Right? "Uuuuummm." Axel scratched the side of his head and swallowed. Hard. "I mean... suuuuure!" he shrugged, and made sure to avoid eye contact.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows. He would have been offended if it weren't for Axel's sudden change in behaviour. The senior knew how to put a guy down if he really wanted to. He'd probably done it a million times before. And properly! Roxas made his way in front of Axel, who was randomly tapping an unknown rhythm into his kneecaps. "Axel..?" he mused, "What's wrong?"

_Good question! What is wrong with you, Axel? _Well for one, he was dropped on his head a couple times as a child. Two, half those times were down a flight of stairs. And three, he was sexualized way too young. Losing your virginity at barely fourteen sounded cool and all when you're telling your friends or something, but there were times when it kinda bit you in the ass. Axel could care less if he'd lost his innocence when he was eight! But it was the things he missed out on, that he didn't come to realize until recently.

Every person he'd dated thus far was 'one of his own,' as he'd thought earlier. Roxas wasn't one of those people. He didn't hang out in the places, he didn't kick back with the same narcotics, and he didn't do the same things for fun. He hadn't known the boy for very long, but it was enough to see that Roxas wasn't anything like that. He was actually what you'd call pure.

And he had the IQ far greater than that of napkin, which is always a _plus_ in Axel's book ~

Seriously.

So with all that being said, he didn't want to 'taint the delicate flower' by handing him the world that he knew nothing about. Because really, they came from two different worlds and Roxas wouldn't fit in. No. No matter how much he wanted to have that sexy, petite body all to himself, he dared to think he cared a little more about the boy than to do that. The redhead chuckled and leaned back on his hands. "Roxy, come on. Just drop it," he said lowly, looking past Roxas and towards the scenery.

"What?" Roxas asked out of pure confusion. "Drop what?"

"We're not doing it."

"Why not?" Axel didn't respond, instead stared straight ahead towards the darkened purple sky, and the lighted falls of their location. It struck Roxas. Right in the chest. "Don't you want me?" Had he misread all the advances towards him thus far? Had he just been building it up in his mind based on what he wanted to happen? Had he just completely embarrassed himself to think Axel would want someone like him? -_Silence-_ Yes.

The junior scoffed to himself at his own bitter answer. Of course it was just him. He felt himself beginning to choke and turned his heel, ready to _walk _back home. Anything to get away from this stinging sensation on his skin, worked perfectly fine for him at the moment.

_Shit._ Axel whipped around, nearly falling onto his ass, caught himself on the balls of his feet, and grabbed onto Roxas' arm. And tugging it harshly, he brought the rest of the boy's body clashing into his own. He barely noticed the surprised look in, what looked like soon-to-be-teary eyes, since he kissed the boy, long and hard. He unconsciously had Roxas pushed roughly against the side of the door, his taller figure pressing into the younger's entire torso and hips. Never mind that their noses and teeth were joining in as well, he couldn't let the teen leave like this.

"Rox..." he spoke harshly against his lips. "Don't misunderstand me." Woah, he didn't use a monosyllabic synonym. He must be serious!

Roxas snorted. His body was still stiff from suppressing his inner tremors so quickly. "What exactly must I _be_ _understanding_ right now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't want to steal your virginity. Not like this." Some people were very picky about their first times. Some wanted to be married first, others would only do it after they had dated their partner for a long time, and others have vowed never to have sex at all! Like... being a vegan on a much more painful level. Obviously, Axel was not one of these people, nor did he have _many _friends who were, but who really knows what Roxas wants? The guy likes Big Bang. And if perchance Roxas was okay with having sex under such these circumstances, 'the back of an older guy's truck' didn't exactly scream: 'VIRTUOUS.' Axel was really just being considerate.

Roxas stepped back, and adorned an expression that assumed 'outraged' and 'disbelieving' nicely. "'Stealing my virginity'? I'm _giving _you my virginity! Take it! ENJOY!"

Axel took a moment... to refrain from _dying_ on the spot.

"Axel," Roxas went on. "I want this." Their fingers intertwined, and their eyes locked. "I really do." He looked down at their hands, hiding his face from the taller boy. "That is... only if you'll take me." he murmured bashfully.

The redhead inhaled sharply and used a grand total of three brain cells to sweep Roxas off his feet, carry him back towards the truck and place him on the heavy-duty metal. Roxas' eagerness was potent when he spread his legs apart but a few inches to let Axel stand between them and kiss him from above. The second Axel's hands were on him, all ill-natured tension melted away and was replaced with pleasure. Roxas felt himself relax into Axel's broad and warm chest. The chills ran through his body, when he extended his neck into the kiss. This was _exhilarating_. The excitement rushed through him, making him feel faint; and giving Axel full control of his body. Just the way he wanted it. "Don't be afraid to be a little… _rough_ with me." Axel groaned in reply, the statement not _completely_ registering in his mind.

Minutes passed. Aware of the dropping in the temperature, he climbed a little closer to Roxas and swivelled around to relocate the small duffle bag he'd brought with him earlier, all the while, trying not to break their kiss. (Which was stupid, since he'd have to break it anyway to get the thing open to take its contents out.)_You're _really_ not thinking today, are you?_ Axel brought Roxas up to a quasi sitting position and haphazardly threw the black, fleecy blanket behind him towards the corner.

And before long, Axel had him on his back, legs up to his naked chest, panting under each touch. "Axel…" he grit out, reaching for the redhead's zipper. Axel gently bit on the skin of his chest. He ripped the damn jeans off Axel's waist, pulled him down and grinded their hips (erections) together.

It was Axel's turn to hiss, reaching down for his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet and out of that, a condom. At the sight, Roxas hurriedly undid his own pants and slipped out of both his jeans and boxer-briefs. He watched as the latex material was spread over 7.5 lovely inches, waiting; anticipating; fearing.

Axel saw him eyeing his …object, and smirked. "Close your eyes." He took the blond's face in his hands and kissed him gently, reassuringly. Shortly after, did he resume his violent disposition and flipped the boy over onto his stomach. Lifting his hips up, Axel licked Roxas' spine as far up and down as he could… before he shoved two fingers into the boy.

"Eeughhhh!" Roxas let out a mixture of noises from the bottom of his throat, but stifled it quickly out of embarrassment.

Axel laughed quietly. "If I wanted you silent…" he dropped down to a warm whisper. "I would have gagged you." Axel brought the blond head around and flicked Roxas' lips with his tongue. That's right. They were in the middle of nowhere. Meaning Roxas could scream and shout as loud as he wanted and no one would hear a thing. Well, other than Axel. But how his comfort was revived by Axel _wanting _to hear him... It was comforting, and most of all, thrilling.

He whimpered when Axel drew back out, cried out in surprise when they were thrust back in. He was holding onto the side of the truck, his fists turning white. His shoulders were giving way and he gradually collapse onto his chest._ Holyfuckingshit, it hurt! _Roxas' teeth clenched and his face contorted. Even though his upper body was completely supported, it did nothing to ease the tension hardening throughout him. Never had he thought that such a sensation would feel _this_ unpleasant. Axel's ring and middle fingers slowly pushed in and out, spreading the gel around his taut ring of muscle. He pushed the whole length of his fingers inside, feeling around the smooth walls of his organ. This continued for a couple of minutes, Roxas eliciting only soft groans here and there.

Truthfully, the digits inside him felt _okay_. It was the **width** of the two fingers at his entrance, that made his arms and legs shake. Roxas silently bit his lip at the pain. This proved to be a bad idea when the fingers were gone and something else pushed into his ass –something DEFINITELY thicker than a couple fingers.

"AAAAAAHHH!" The strained vocals added to the shiver travelling through the redhead. He gripped onto the boy's hips, groaning. It's been forever since he'd fucked a virgin. This meant that Roxas body was far tighter than what he was used to, let alone what he'd expected. The way his insides squeezed his cock in all the good spots made Axel sure: he was going to take this to their bodies' maximum; he would milk this for everything Roxas was willing to give him; and for once in a long while, he'd pay attention to something more than just their orgasms.

Axel pulled out half of what was in the boy and pushed back in. _Ugh, that felt so good,_ he thought, hearing a slight grunt from the naked blond in front of him. And soon he was thrusting at his full speed, sheathing and unsheathing himself into Roxas.

_Fuck._ He groaned. _Holy_ _Fuck! _He hissed. _HOLY FLYING FUCK!_ It hurt! Roxas was able to choke back an _actual_ cry, but the tears rolled down his flushed cheeks just the same. Axel was ridiculously huge! He could feel it with every thrust; it drummed against the underside of his stomach, making his whole body shake like a **gong**. He no longer supported himself; just let Axel hold onto him and fuck him senseless. "Uhhnnn…"

It was in him so deep…

That very thought, plus the feeling of Axel's balls _slapping _against his whenever he was buried in him 'til the hilt… it was what made Roxas' dick hard.

The thought of being completely filled by another person, being taken and fucked relentlessly, eased the physical pain in his hindquarters. He couldn't forget about the sting, (that was clearly impossible in that current state) but regardless, it drew a bit of a sick smile onto the boy's face. This pain was almost very… _kinky. _

Roxas was breathing hard through his open, up-curved mouth. He curled his head between his shoulders and went back up on his elbows. He choked on another cry when Axel grabbed the front of his thighs and impaled him harder. He arched his back at the sensation of Axel's dick scraping against one of his bones. _Fuck, that was deep!_ "Axeeeel," he cried, almost whining, _begging _for more.

What seemed like the worst possible time, Axel laughed and pulled out. Yet another strange noise erupted from his lips when his body naturally pushed the head of Axel's penis out of him. He panted. "Don't- don't stop." It was a plea from his body, which ached for the older boy's touch to be anywhere on him.

Axel placed warm hands on the bottom curves of Roxas' butt, massaging him tenderly. His coarse, slightly callused fingers stroked his skin in a worshipping fashion. _I need a second to breathe._ He licked the soft, unmarred skin, showing his appreciation. _Mmm, it__'__s like porcelain._ Once his blood wasn't rushing like a city pump, he repositioned their bodies and pushed back into Roxas' puckered hole.

The motion made them both see sparks. It made them shudder to be with each other like this.

Axel reached around and hooked his index and middle finger into the blond's mouth. He pushed down on the boy's lower back and angled his thrust into a special part in Roxas' insides.

Roxas screamed around the fingers in his mouth before biting and sucking on them like a pacifier.

A stinging rush of pain rang within Roxas' body... and then Axel smelled iron. "R-Roxy.. you're-" he trailed off, shocked at what he'd looked down to. Roxas had become more aware of the warm, wet, sticky fluid then dripping down his thighs. He shrugged it off. "It's fine." Axel move no further move, keeping the large pulsating erection buried inside him. Roxas grunted. "You stop now and I'll fucking kill you..." he half-heartedly threatened, overcome with such erotic pleasure.

Axel swallowed and resumed his hip motions, slowly at first then coming back up to full speed. All the while, he kept thinking, _You__'__re something else._

Roxas bit his lip but still moaned. This was what being 'fucked like an animal' was. He smiled, having finally realized how good it was. His prostate was being pounded into relentlessly, filling him with white hot fire.

The hand that reached forward and squeezed his dick was just fuel to that. "Aaaaaaah!"

He pumped in time with his thrusts, sometimes switching to alternate. Roxas was steel hard, and throbbing like mad. It wasn't long, a few harsh grips at the base and a couple thumbing motions at the head, until Roxas released his load in Axel's hand and Axel did the same, buried deep in the boy's body.

The scream Roxas made was unlike any other. It drew out long and passionate; an auditory visualization of the hard orgasm running through him. His voice rose and fell as the sensation came, shaking as it came to an end.

Gasping and trying to swallow, Roxas' hit the metal plane with a hard, _-thwump-_ sound; fists first then the rest of him. He made a final effort to turn himself over as to allow some oxygen into his heaving lungs and was remotely aware of the older redhead already situated at his left, panting and wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

_Shit that was amazing._ An orgasm after jacking off is officially nothing compared to what they just did. Roxas's body was trying to decide whether to keep his eyes open or closed, so flashes of the night sky filled his translucent mind all the while that happened.

Axel, already having his breath under better control, looked to the side to see blue eyes fluttering, staying open for three seconds at a time before withering shut. He grinned. Roxas was truly something else. He wrapped an arm around the less than conscious body, rubbing the boy's shoulder a little, then pulling him close and covering them both in half the blanket, like a taco. Roxas' head fell against his chest and they stayed there for a couple minutes, sharing each other in their afterglow.

* * *

"Wow." Roxas was inclined against the black frame, Axel's arm draped over his shoulders and softly stroking his right arm. "That was…" Hot? Exciting? Orgasmic? _YES!_ "Exhilarating."

"Hehe, yeah." Axel felt around beside them for his jacket. "Do you mind if I smoke?" Roxas looked at him with curiosity. How is he thinking about smoking right now?

"Go ahead."

Axel fished out a blue container, the words 'Viceroy' on them. A sleek lighter appeared and ignited the cigarette in his mouth. Roxas watched as the splint grew brighter. Axel took a deep inhale and plumes of smoke escaped his lips. The redhead looked _relieved._ Wasn't sex supposed to do that? "May I try it?"

Axel looked at him with a flicker of surprise. "Sure." He passed Roxas the one in his hand.

"Uhm. I meant could I have my own." Mild caution crossed Axel's green eyes. Wordlessly, he held out the pack and passed him the lighter, taking note of all characteristics the boy had that meant this was his first encounter with this sort of substance.

Roxas took a stick, balancing it between his lips like Axel did. The silver lighter in his hands was engraved. 'Axel Fair' was along the bottom and on the other side was 'Flurry of Dancing Flames' penned in a rich script. Roxas eyed the intricate lettering as he flicked it open and stuck the end of his king-sized smoke into the flame. "Suck it in…" the older boy coached, and a splint glowed much like Axel's had. …And then there was smoke in his mouth.

Less than gracefully, Roxas opened his mouth. To splutter. It tasted bitter. Repulsive.

"How is it?"

"Smooth," he lied, and took another puff.

"You wanna know something?" Roxas 'hmm-ed' in response as they both watched the changing colours of the water beyond their toes. "I've never done this before." Roxas stared at him. "No! Not _this._ Like… taking someone all the way out here; spending a majority of the time sober with them; actually _enjoying _an afterglow." He mumbled near the end. _And I kinda like it._ "You know wha' 'mean?"

Roxas was silent.

"Roxy?" He looked at the blond. The dazed, limp, _pale_, blond looking up the sky with his eyes glazed over. It was like he was looking at God… "Rox! You okay?" he asked worriedly and propped the boy up a little more for him to look into his own eyes. He noticed the one-third smoked cigarette hanging between Roxas' fingertips.

"I'm fine," Roxas replied airily and smiled a little too wide. And creepily.

"Look, if it's too strong, you don't have to finish it."

"What a waste of a cigarette! I'm just a little dizzy, no biggie." _Hehe. That rhymed. _"I can take it. Now come on," he patted Axel on the stomach a little. "Keep talking."

"Hmph." He smirked, more or less satisfied. "Okay, seriously," he changed his tone accordingly. "Right now, if you wanted, we could make it back home just in time before midnight."

"And if I wanted to stay with you all night long?"

* * *

**To: Dad**

Hi, Dad. I'm not coming home tonight.

I'd tell you where I am but you'd never believe me.

When do I need to be home tomorrow?

_**-Send-**_

* * *

"Hi, just gimme one sec, 'kay cutie?"

Axel smiled politely at the receptionist. "Sure." Had he not been leaning against the desk, thoroughly fixated on the blond who had just agreed to sleep with him tonight, he might have picked up a very familiar voice resonating from behind the large pillar separating the five pods of the lobby.

"Name please?"

"Crescent, Sephiroth."

* * *

The pair arrived at room 138. Smoking, double bed, non-handicap. Axel leaned against the door frame, looking down at Roxas' lovely face.

"Scared?"

He stood on his tiptoes, locking his eyes with Axel's lips, parted and ready. Roxas whispered.

"Terrified."

A warm, wet kiss followed, lips melding their way onto each other's. Had one of them been a frog, it would have certainly produced magical results.

For a moment, Axel fumbled with the key card in his one hand. The door clicked open. Roxas roughly pulled the taller boy inside. And the door clicked shut.

* * *

_**x/x" Oh my... **_

_**So here it is ~! :D**_

_**Eehh, hey guys, I've been so emo lately. It's been forever since I first started this story and I think I'm startign to lose a little faith in it. Tell me how you like it, won't you? :J Oh yeah! Next chapter is actually nearly finished! So if I'm happy with my reviews for this one... ^^ Hehe ~**_

_**Thanks to those who've been loyaly reading this. You guys are really awesome. Thank you.**_

_**And a BIG THANK YOU to my BETA! LalaHachi, I KHeart you so much :D**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin**_


	32. XXXII' Date Me! P3: Riku & Sora Lemon

**_Hark! Another lemon! And omg, it's nearly 7000 words  
Hope you guys'll enjoy this extra long chapter xP_**

* * *

**_32._**

Riku had Sora tightly wrapped in his arms in front of his bedroom door. The kisses he placed on the boy's lips were slow and gentle, giving Sora the chance to pull away at anytime. But he never did. The silveret pressed their foreheads together, keeping his aquamarine eyes loosely shut. "Are you ready for me?"

Sora smiled with such joy swelling up within him.

"Always."

Adoringly, Riku placed a finger beneath the younger boy's chin, stroking it side to side at first, then connecting their lips in yet another sugar-y-sweet kiss. A blue-green eye opened but a sliver, to locate the gilded handle that would grant them access to a night of star-shooting, fireworks-popping, I-just-got- reanimated-and-I'm-taking-my-first-breath-on-top-of-a-snow-covered-mountain. …-ness. He swallowed hard when the door unlatched and swung open slightly.

Both his eyes nearly flew out of their sockets. His gasp broke the kiss he'd been holding and he reached out (very smoothly) and reclosed the white door.

"Riku?" Sora laughed at the brief, flustered look on the older boy's face. "What's going on?"

Wide, unblinking eyes stared back at the deep blue ones of the brunet. "You know… I just remembered something that I forgot about and that needs my… attention," he rambled. Sora, raising his eyebrows and smiling, put on an expression that was half-disappointed, half-amused. "Just 5 minutes," Riku said, holding up as many fingers.

The boy shrugged, leaning on the wall of the corridor. "Okay. But I'm counting," he said coyly.

"Great." Riku smiled with relief and turned back to the door. The minute Sora looked down to fetch something from inside his pocket, the silveret's face appeared mere centimetres before his own. "Hold that thought now," he purred about three octaves lower than his normal pitch.

Sora may have squeaked, his slim body feeling uneasy. Riku smirked, when Sora responded with a plain nod, and then he disappeared into his room.

The boy left in the hall let out a deep breath, grinned and pulled out his phone.

**To: Leon the Lionheart**

_Dad, staying the night at Riku's._

_See you tomorrow afternoon-ish? :]_

_**-Send-**_

**About a minute later…**

**Fr: Leon the Lionheart**

_Alright. You two have fun._ _Don't stay up too late and don't make too much noise. I'm just next door; I can still drag you back home if I have to._

_**Sent: 8:17PM on /03/05/10/**_

Sora smirked. He was aware of what incident (in the form of Sora's 7th birthday) to Leon was referring. But for now, there was laughter in his head.

**To: Leon the Lionheart**

_Yes mum ~!_

_**-Send-**_

Sora slipped the device back into his pocket. Beyond the wall, objects clattering could be heard. The rustling, shifting and overall commotion, were not very skillfully concealed. He grew impatient (Not for not… 'getting right to it', but to be left alone in general.) "Are you ready yet or do you need more time to clean?"

_**In Riku's room…-no timeskip-**_

_He knows me too well._ Riku carelessly shoved random articles into his closet so that the floor became visible. _I swear that's the last time I allow Kadaj into my room unsupervised!_ he growled to himself while shaking off the arm of a sweater that was caught around his leg. _Loz does not count!_

Once he was more or less content with the amount of discernible black carpet, he backed into the closet door and forced it shut. _Borrow clothes my ass. With all the crap he brought along, you'd think some of it would amount to a party-worthy ensemble._

Solely focused on the mess, he failed to turn on the lights; the lamp post's orange glow, just peaking through his blinds, served as the only illumination. Everything may have looked as it did pre-Kadaj's invasion, however, under further scrutiny, Riku found just a couple of odd things.

For one, the bed was made. _I never make my bed anymore._ Other than to subtly drive his father up the

Great Wall of China, he never bothered to fix the duvet that was constantly used when he was in the room. Furthermore, it was draped nicely over his pillow, and remained crisp and prim. Like the maniac who raped his closet purposely left it void of any discarded garments. Purposely!

But come to think of it, Kadaj wasn't one to make his bed either. No, this looked more like… Yazoo's doing. Stepping closer, a glimmer of white caught Riku's eye. He reached toward the slope of his pillow and picked up… a matchbook. Thin, silver eyebrows drew together. _Do they want me to set something on fire? _And then he saw them.

Looking at them now, it was comical that he'd missed them all in the first place (another consequence from not turning on the lights.) There must have been at least 60, strategically placed in groups of 3 or five on every free and flat surface of his room. Candles? Riku smirked and unfolded the glossy paper in his hand. _You guys are too much._

* * *

Sora fidgeted with his fingers. He did that weird, idle thing with his lips when you pucker them and blow until they vibrate. The sounds gradually desisted, making him rock back and forth on his socked feet in anticipation.

"Hey Sora?" He perked up at the voice beyond the wall. "Do my brothers strike you as romantic people?"

The brunet answered almost instantly. "They barely strike me as '_people'_."

"What about me? Do I seem like a romantic person to you?"

"Uhh…" Sora gulped. "Why are you asking me this, Riku?" The door suddenly opened, and Sora was faced with a sight that could only be called …religious. The room was glowing. And Riku was standing in front of him; which made him look like _he_ was glowing. Sora walked towards the center of the room when Riku slowly stepped aside to welcome him in. He looked around at place and how it seemed so different. (He was seeing it in a new 'light.' Hehe.)

It couldn't be helped but to see this as symbolic. He was in Riku's room for a much different reason than previous occasions. He was here not as a friend, but as something more. He was stepping into a new place and it was just a tad frightening. Sora felt long arms wrap around his neck from behind.

"Just in case this comes off as completely cheesy." The older boy laughed softly against his neck, creating shocks throughout his entire body. "Sora…" The brunet's breath hitched and his pulse quickened at the tone of Riku's voice. It was so low and soothing and… Sora couldn't think what else what.

He let his neck rest back into the silveret's shoulder, to which Riku quickly nuzzled into placing fleecy- soft kisses. "Riku," Sora breathed. He allowed himself to be turned around to face the boy who tenderly cupped his face and looked at him intently.

Pairs of oceanic eyes met with electricity, the flickering of candlelight reflecting in each. Neither looked away when their lips eventually found each other. Riku stared deeply while he massaged the younger boy's lips. Sora gazed back while nibbling the older one's lips. It wasn't until the silveret's tongue grazed across Sora's upper lip, did he give in to the tension.

A deep, but soft groan slipped out when Sora parted his lips and Riku's tongue swirled its way through.

The slippery sensation suddenly made him so weak in the knees that he clutched onto Riku's shirt a little more firmly to steady himself.

Riku never considered himself to be a very tall man, but he found himself dipping down a few inches to capture the fullness of Sora's mouth with his own. Sora flicked his tongue along the underside of Riku's.

_-MMMmmmggghhhhh-_ How long had he waited for this? He acted as he thought about it. To fearlessly explore the boy's mouth with his tongue? To hold him tightly in his arms, locking his elbows and blocking all else from getting to them? A soft sigh came from the brunet in front of him. To be able to be with him as clearly as your feelings dictate and have Sora's own feelings compliment your own to the point where you can be as intimate as your hearts' desire?

_You lucky bastard._

The weakness in his knees threatened to make Sora fall over. Still gripping onto the front of Riku's loose muscle shirt, near the shoulders, Sora led them both back toward the direction of the _'thing with the mattress._' The first thing he came into contact with was what felt like the head of the bed. By then, Riku had relinquished his grip around the lighter body in his arms. Sora took this time to sit down at the corner near the pillows and pull the silveret's shirt off.

Riku kneeled in front of the boy's legs and raised his arms obediently, and he pulled Sora into an embrace before the garment had even reached the ground. Surprised, Sora came to kneel in front of Riku as well, returning the hug and feeling the smooth expanse of Riku's back. _Good Avon! That was smooth._ The brunet pushed the little-more-than-shoulder-length mane of hair away to fully cover every inch of warm skin with his fingertips.

Well-sculpted muscles tensed slightly at each feather-soft touch. The younger boy drew his fingers up and down the silveret's backbone, stroking it; petting him; showing a physical approval of how beautiful he _felt_.

Riku gasped and arched his body when Sora's fingers nails moved in a fan-like motion at the bottom of his spine. "S-Sor'…" He willed himself to look back at the boy's face.

Sora smiled and gave him a soft kiss. "Undress me, Riku," he whispered softly. The silveret took the hand that had made its way to his cheek, and grasped it tightly. He pinned it to the board of his bed and deepened the kisses being given to him. He crouched over Sora as if not wanting to share him with the yellow illumination dancing about his room. Then slowly, as languid as his lip movements, he raised the boy's polo shirt up. Riku let go of the hand he had been holding to bunch the shirt up near the brunet's chest so that at the very last possible second, he broke their kiss and held the clothing up for Sora to duck out of in one fluid motion.

The wisps of air made him shiver, Riku's lips suddenly appearing on his diaphragm made him tremble. He slouched, his trousers rubbing against the soft carpet. He clenched his teeth as well as one eye, the other blue one doing a blurry job of monitoring the silveret's movements. Riku's tongue dipped into Sora's belly button.

He sucked in a large gulp of a breath. "Riku.." He was mildly aware of pale, slender fingers undoing the button of his pants. When the zipper was down, his fingers paused along the waistband and Riku stopped tasting his navel to slowly look up at him.

Shaky arms pushed him back up into a quasi sitting position, enough to allow the dark pants to move down to his shins. Blue eyes stared blankly, shyly, expectantly and eagerly when Riku slowly lifted up Sora's left leg by the back of the knee, pulled the fabric down and kissed the side of the newly exposed skin. He went rigid when Riku did the same to the other leg.

Sora's mouth opened but elicited no sound. What was he supposed to think? _Was_ he supposed to think? He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. He just looked –_watched_ as Riku delicately slipped off his sock by the toe, caressed the underside of his foot and began kissing his ankle so delicately! Unsteady elbows gave way and Sora haphazardly leaned against the bedpost once more. "Riku.." The smooth cheek of the taller boy rubbed against the inside of his thigh. "Ri-Riku," he choked out through the tightness in his jaw.

Riku began to hover over his form, reserving at least an inch of space between them. Completely by-passing the source of his tension, Riku crawled on his hands, and closed his eyes once they were but a few centimetres apart. The heat from both their bodies mingled between them, making Sora dizzy. "Touch me," he begged.

Moving Sora's jaw to the side, Riku pulled Sora onto him and began nibbling on the boy's earlobe.

Hearing quiet sounds of approval, he leant back on to floor. He pulled the boy on top of him and positioned them so that he had Sora's chest flush against his own and that he was supporting them both on his right shoulder and side of his waist. Sora threw his arms around his neck when Riku abandoned the ear to suck more viciously on the teen's exposed neck. Riku felt the brunet fighting to breath, the throbbing on his lips rapidly pulsating. His sweat-laced palm reached down and drew the leg (that was not caught between his own two) around his waist, clashing their arousals together.

A strangled moan vibrated onto his tongue which was lapping the skin after every few, and rather harsh, bites. He sucked his neck hard like a man dying of thirst and being given nectar of the most exotic fruit conceivable. Riku consciously agreed that the two were not that far off. He suddenly grunted when said boy started to rock his hips.

Small swings of his hips and Riku was easily the hardest he'd ever been. It made Riku aware of what else he hadn't tasted yet. If action in his nether regions was what Sora wanted, it was what Riku was going to give him.

Riku grabbed onto Sora's right hand, prying it away from him and pulling it outwards, away from their bodies. He then took full advantage of how open the smaller body was, kissing the side of Sora's chin once more and trailing down to his collar. Snaking the tip of his tongue out, he traced the bone all the way to the shoulder in a few uneven strokes like one would sketch a portrait.

The younger boy shivered at the chilling wetness on his skin. He gasped when Riku took his nipple into his mouth. "Haaah…" Riku rubbed tensing muscles around the side of Sora's ribs all the while swirling the pinkish-brown nub between his lips, with the tip of his tongue. It wasn't long before the silveret moved to the other one on his chest; this time carefully dragging his teeth around it.

The action drew all kinds of new mewls from the blue-eyed boy, his lower body squirming and legs clenching sporadically. Riku pulled away to give them both a breather, which they took to, wholeheartedly. Both teens were panting hard through open mouths, Riku's feeling rather raw. He smirked to himself at the thought of being far from done.

After he lifted them both off the carpet, he propped Sora against the side of the twin bed so that he had the brunet in a sitting position, Sora's head resting back against the thickness of the mattress.

Riku took a second to look at his partner; out of breath, blushing and peaking back at him with one glassy, azure eye. He grinned while spreading the boy's half-bent legs apart. _Beautiful_. He went down on all fours… and took all five and a half perfect inches into the depths of his throat.

Sora Strife's eyes shot open.

A trickle of sweat ran down his neck, a tremor in his right hand arose and he let out a short, but immensely strangled cry.

His voice died and he choked a bit, unsure of when to breathe and when to swallow. So he screamed again.

Riku's gag reflex kicked in, coating Sora in a slipperier fluid. He kept the erection in his mouth for a while, just covering it and running his tongue underneath it. It caused drops of spittle to trickle down Sora's balls and onto the floor, making a considerably damp spot to appear on the dark carpet. Neither one of them cared in the slightest.

His jaw began to ache. (Sora was a good 5, 6–fingers-tied-together wide.) Slowly taking it from his lips, and earning a whimper from its owner, the older teen swallowed the excess saliva and went back down on the pulsating erection. Multiple times.

"Auuuhghh! Auh..auhh..auuuh…!" Sora's arms and legs trembled violently, and the silver head was bobbing forward and back so swiftly, he daren't touch it and hinder the pace attending to him. Alternatively, Sora clutched onto the duvet near his head. It gave him something fluffy to squeeze and let him solidly arch his back, losing himself in the sinfully sweet sensation. Riku took him in a fraction deeper, yet it was enough for Sora to buck his hips.

Riku spared one glance at the brunet's unbelievably erotic expression and abandoned 80 percent of his restraint. He grabbed a hold of those sexy hips and yanked the whole body forward. Sora squeaked and landed on his elbows, his one hand inadvertently pulling half the bedding with him.

Quickly assessing that the boy wasn't too dishevelled, Riku spread the slender, sun-kissed legs apart again, then began to blow Sora from a better angle. Straight, vertical motions allowed him to suck at a faster rhythm, using both hands for support.

Every knuckle on Sora's hands and feet turned white as he writhed uncontrollably beneath the silveret. "AAH! AAhh…AAAHHH! Riku!" His voice strained. "You're –gonna AH. ...make –m-make me c-oohhh…" Riku dragged his tongue flat against the vein throbbing wildly along his shaft. Sora exhaled in disappointed relief, when that was the last thing Riku did. He relaxed his face and limbs in an attempt to breathe normally when he suddenly felt two very wet lips on his own.

Riku cut the kiss short in favour of whispering against the boy's lips, like he had done countless times that day. "Ride it out, love." Another kiss. "As hard as you can." He licked Sora's upper lip before retreating to a less than frightening distance. _Don't hold back._ He winked.

Sora couldn't look away when Riku returned his erection into his sweet, _hot_, mouth. '_Oh fuck that was so hot,' _Sora thought. _This is why people are so sex crazed; it's frigging amazing! _Riku knelt back on his legs and held on tightly to the boy's hips. _Shit, this is million times better than masturbating. _For one, it was wet. Any late night wanking was done with his small, dry, unsatisfying hand. Two, it was someone else. Sora was panting like a dog, yet he wasn't doing a _thing_ to make him feel this way. Someone else was doing it to him. _For him_. Sora decided: he liked being touched. And finally, this was Riku. "Unnghhh!" _Fuck, this is Riku. _Riku had him in his mouth. Riku had him naked on his floor. Riku had him edging closer and closer to the brim of his insanity.

The length in his mouth twitched against the back walls of Riku's oral cavity. Sora was close. Pulling it out to the head, he swallowed, took a large breath and deep-throated the boy once again. Sora's scream rang throughout the room. Clammy fingers travelled into silver locks and attempted to force the length deeper. White ribbons of milk shot into the older boy, who was careful to take it all in. Riku tried not to choke or breathe in, lest the juice come out his nose.

The orgasm shook the little body for nearly a minute, Riku bobbing his head once he had swallowed most of the cum. He rested with a sigh, "Riku…" Sora fell back onto the fallen sheets, quivering and moist. Riku smiled, wiping his lips. Sora reached a shaky hand towards the boy, beckoning to come join him just for a while. Riku took the hand and placed himself next to the brunet, attaching himself to the boy's side. He wiped away a damp clump of the boy's side bangs from his forehead.

Riku laid there on his side until Sora's breathing was more or less back to normal. He tucked a strand of brown hair behind the boy's ears. _So… beautiful._ He was aware that he'd thought the same thing before, but it remained as true as it did the last time. Sora. Was. Beautiful.

Sora's face contorted with confusion. "What am I sitting on?" he asked, a little less than out of breathe. The boy felt underneath the duvet on which a majority of his body was on. Riku's eyes widened when the younger pulled out… "K-Y Jelly?" Sora smiled. "Kadaj?"

Oh, he wished.

In reality, Kadaj was 'more _exotic_' than that. Riku scratched his head in slight embarrassment. "Loz." Sora's hand stiffened and the white tube fell from his fingers. They both laughed.

Sora took Riku's hand and smiled up at him. "So… you wanna use it?" Riku may have gotten hard (again) at the tone of his partner's voice. He'd just swallowed the boy's juices, now he was going to be… _inside of him._ He nodded, silently.

The brunet sustained the smile, masking his own nervousness, and reached for the lubricant. In his excitement, Riku quickly picked the boy up and sat his on his bed. The apprehension still lay in Sora's blue eyes.

They were both virgins after all.

Riku popped the cap, and spread a few drops of the odourless fluid on his ring and middle fingers. "Lie back," he instructed. Sora rested back onto a fluffy pillow behind him, not really sure what to do with the rest of him. Should he spread his legs? Pull them up? What about his hands? Should he look at Riku? Or is it too weird to watch? "Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll… guide you," he reassured the boy. Even though all he really knew was what Kadaj had told him as a child (unfortunately), he roughly knew the basics of what to do, and as long as Sora enjoyed it, it was good. Sora nodded in response.

Riku looked at the boy's body; smooth skin, open legs, half-hard penis… He inhaled a bit shakily, leaned forward and rubbed the ring of muscle. It quivered each time. Riku didn't know what to make of this, so he just continued and pushed both third and fourth fingers into him. Sora winced, audibly. "Does it hurt?"

"No," he lied. It hurt quite a bit. "It just feels weird." Sora swallowed. "Keep going."

Riku obeyed, moving his fingers around the cavity. It was really warm inside, not to mention _tight_. He had trouble manoeuvring, scared of going too fast. He heard quick intakes of breaths from his partner, taking it as a sign of his pace being somewhat okay. He swirled the digits around in circles, feeling the velvety walls of Sora's insides. He did this for a few minutes, taking them out, putting them back in, feeling around, and then taking them out slightly parted. "Are you okay?"

"I'm cool." Sora panted now fidgeting with his fingers. Riku relinquished his fingers and took the jelly into his hand again. He spread it around his engorged member, throbbing with anticipation.

"Ready?"

"Yes." Aligning himself, Riku pushed the tip onto the lubricated hole.

He grunted. "It won't go in…"

"What do you mean it won't go in?" Sora asked, obviously feeling the head at his butthole.

Riku tried to push in again. "It's too… big."

"Then what do we d—AAAHH!" Both Sora's and Riku's eyes shut tightly. (For completely different reasons, of course.)

Sora was _tiiight._ Both realized that in an instant. Riku was barely in past the head, and Sora's entrance clamped down on him firmly. "...A-Are you okay?"

Sora choked. He had seen that Riku was… _well endowed_, but he never imagined it'd hurt like this. He panted. Perhaps it would get better. If he just ignored the pain at his entrance, maybe the rest of it would feel better. "Go ahead."

Riku's penis pushed to half way in. "AAAAHHH! STOP." The silveret didn't move. "Fuck, I'm sorry, I can't do this." Sora gasped, sitting up on his elbows to look at Riku. Apologetic blue eyes gazed at him in agony, and Riku slowly pulled out. Sora winced when the whole of it was out of him.

He immediately crawled to Riku's side. "Riku, I'm sorry." He said into the boy's pale shoulder.

"Sora." He patted the younger's head." "Sor', it's okay." The brunet whined softly in response. "You said that you were okay."

"I lied!" Riku rolled his eyes, and then a thought popped into his mind.

"You know… you could _top_," pause. "If you wanted to."

Sora raised his head and fixed the silveret with such a look. "Are you dumb? I'm almost as big as you. You'll die," he exaggerated.

"I can handle it." He offered softly but Sora shook his head.

"No, Riku. Just no." He replaced his forehead onto the base of Riku's neck, feeling massively disappointed with himself. "Want me to take care of that?" he motioned to Riku's slightly less than stiff penis.

"I'm fine." He said rubbing the side of the boy's arm. Truthfully, the excitement was gone, and for now, he didn't mind plainly laying with the boy. _Having sex with you is about having sex with you; not about cumming._ He hoped that made sense.

"Really. I can do other stuff... for you," Sora offered shyly to which Riku grinned.

"Okay. Kiss me." Sora blinked.

And obeyed, naturally. He placed his plump lips onto Riku's and nibbled actively. Perhaps this was needed to get back into the mood. Sora reached down and stroked Riku's length, happy when it quickly became hard in his palm.

Suddenly, Riku's hand grabbed him by the wrist and interlaced their fingers. The brunet pulled away and looked at him, puzzled. "Sora," Riku said. "Kiss me." The younger boy furrowed his eyebrows and did as he was told; massaging the older teen's lips a bit more animatedly than before.

Sora positioned himself in front of Riku, making their chests brush against each other. He opened his mouth a little to lick at Riku's lips and rubbed his stomach against the silveret's erection.

Riku pulled away with a hiss-slash-sigh.

"Riku?"

"Sora?" he mocked, to the boy's dislike.

"I don't get it!"

"What don't you get?" Riku asked calmly, tilting his head. "I'm asking you to kiss me."

_Just _kiss him? Sora might have been new to this sex thing, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing. Riku just wanted kisses? Had admitting his discomfort really taken the silveret out of the mood, and subconsciously rendered Sora unavailable for giving and receiving sexual pleasure? Did he screw his non-existent sex life up so bad _already_?

"Sora!" His head snapped up at the voice summoning him back to life. He tilted his head, questioningly, in response. Riku kneeled forward and pushed on his shoulders. "Stop thinking." Sora found himself pinned to the bed by Riku's arms, legs and lips. He couldn't understand why Riku would choose to neglect his physical extremity's needs, but the incessant sucking on his bottom lip told him it barely mattered.

He kissed back with all that he felt; showing exactly he wanted Riku to know by merely the movement in his lips. _'You're special to me.'_ Riku caressed the sides of his face adoringly. _'You're my everything.'_ Sora placed tiny licks on the silveret's upper lip, preparing to slip in with his physical permission. _'I think I've fallen in love with you.' _Their slicked tongues danced against each other in a sensual ballad, Riku still pushing softly against Sora's lips at the same time.

The brunet took a deep breath and revelled in everything around him at that moment. He pushed his skinny chest into Riku's broader one. He secured Riku's hips between his thighs. He swivelled his head in an 'S' position, deepening the kiss with his neck.

"Riku.." Sora whispered to the side, the older boy adjusting to kiss the corner of his mouth. "Can we.." he started with his eyes closed. "try again?" Riku paused in his kissing to look at him in the eyes.

"Sora." He spoke with a little strain in his tone, as if he expected the boy to get over it and let it go.

"Riku." Sora rubbed the boy's pale cheek. "I want to try it again." The look in his eyes attempted to emphasise the 'I' in that request; that it was because he wanted to do it and not because he felt like he was obligated to return the favour. _You're special to me, so I want to do special things _with you_, Riku... _

The older teen took Sora's hand between his two, speaking down to it, softly. "I don't want to hurt you."

Sitting more or less upright, Sora tipped Riku's chin up with his other hand, making the apprehensive boy look at him as he spoke in earnest. "I promise not to hide it if it does." A small smile appeared on his pink lips, and he leaned back against the fluffy pillows, opening his body up to Riku once again. _'I trust you with my whole heart,'_ he thought as he reached for the bottle of lube and handed it to his partner. _And my whole body._

Riku stared into his eyes and silently took the lubricant from his fingers. The generic scent hit his nose and Sora took a steadying breath, his fingers twitching slightly at his sides in reluctant anticipation. Riku took Sora's left hand with his right, offering comfort with the heat in his palms. While his other hand was slicked and ready, Riku gave a small squeeze as a signal, to which Sora returned with a nod of his head.

One ring finger pushed inside Sora's body, slowly and tentatively. He sucked in a breath, his mind swirling around with inconsistency. When two more fingers eventually made their way into him, Sora was struggling to keep his breathing in check, shuddering with every few. Riku cautiously slipped in and out, trying to ignore the excitement growing in his lap at the thought of Sora squeezing him tightly.

He must have prepared Sora for 20 minutes, both filling that gap in with loving exchanges in their lips and free hands, until the brunet felt more or less comfortable with the intrusion. He rubbed the wrist of the hand between his legs, signalling that he was ready.

Riku pulled away from their kiss to catch his breath, and to relocate the bottle of lubricant. Though the second he popped the cap, Sora snatched it and squeezed a generous amount in his own hand. Without warning or hesitation, the boy reached for Riku's erection, covering it completely with the liquid. Sora couldn't help but smirk with victory when Riku cried out in surprise and untainted pleasure, even more so when Riku bit his lip to stifle the sound.

Once slicked enough, Sora pecked Riku's cheek and laid back for the silveret to take him. As Riku pushed in, Sora gasped, not out of pain or discomfort, but out of complete satisfaction. He let out his breath all at once. "Haaaah, Riku… g-go-," he gulped, "ahead."

Riku swallowed, totally ready for this. He started off slowly, watching for any signs of pain, but after the first five and nothing but soft moans, Riku didn't hold back and pounded into boy as hard as he could.

"AAHHHH!" The sweet sound strangled itself in Sora's throat, and the boy felt his legs go limp before wrapping tightly around Riku's waist. The way Riku filled him perfectly, wiped out all other thought in his mind. For that while, he lived thoroughly in those moments, feeling Riku inside him, on him, with him and nothing else. Nothing else mattered.

Sora felt some life in his arms. "Riku," he whispered, pulling himself up towards the silveret's head, without disrupting the pace of his thrusts, and kissed his partner passionately. They'd kissed so many times that day, and there was no explanation as to why he'd become so addicted to the taste and immaculate feel of Riku's lips. They just fit so perfectly well together in so many positions, speeds and moisture conditions, which neither boy could get enough of!

Riku felt himself get lost in the familiar sensation once again and slowed down his thrusts, aligning his attention on wrapping his arms around Sora's body and cradling him in his warmth. Sora let out a sigh of relief at the touch, fixing his fingers in Riku's hair and pulling them completely together.

"Mmm, Sora." Riku nibbled on Sora's bottom lip, picking up the pace, though this time, thrusting upwards into the boy.

"Ahhh…! Riku!" Sora cried, with his eyes clenched tight. Riku had just… hit something; something deep inside him that suddenly blew the wind out of his lungs. He gripped tightly onto Riku's shoulders, now that they were about the same height, being on his lap.

The older boy paused and searched for Sora's blue eyes, his own slightly bleary. "Something wrong?" he panted.

Sora shook his head and replied 'No' at the same time. "Something… really, really good." He opened his eyes and looked deep into aquamarine depths. "Do it again." Riku made a weak attempt as a smirk and resumed his rough hip movements. Sora clawed his nails into the back of his neck and whimpered haltingly before screaming without restraint. Riku must have been… drunk, since those nails felt kind of kinky and that scream started a ripple effect of ecstacy emanating from his cock and ebbing throughout the rest of his self.

Riku's thighs began to get sore and he pushed himself onto Sora, who fell back and rapidly felt a surprisingly thrilling feeling of being trapped and cradled against the bed. Riku kept one hand flat on the mattress for support, and the other fisting through brown hair.

It wasn't until Sora kept gasping out his name a while later, did he realize that that new position stimulated the erection pressed tightly beneath his abs. "R-Riku…Riku, yes! Yes, yes, fuck yes!" Everything felt good. Every inch of his body felt hot and sweet and just so very satisfying. Translucent fluid shot up onto both their stomachs and chests. Sora's entire body went stiff and shook with wave after wave of his climax.

Riku watched as the brunet's sexy body stretched out before him with the arch of his back. He winced at the even tighter cavern, clamping around his member, urging it to spill. Another cry of his name in such an erotic tone from Sora, and he did. Riku grunted and held onto Sora's shoulders as white, sticky ribbons were emptied deep inside the young boy's body.

He rocked back and forth for good measure, squeezing out what was left of one of the best orgasms he'd ever had. His body was sticky with perspiration and his whole body throbbing with blood circulation. He gasped for air and shakily pulled out, resting himself beside Sora.

They laid in silence, save for their heaving breaths gradually calming down. Neither could think a word, therefore said nothing in that moment. Time slipped by them with unknown speed and pace and Sora and Riku enjoyed every millisecond of their existence together.

* * *

Sora was turned over onto his right side in a pseudo-fetal position, his forehead pressed against his knees, and looking around his own hips at Riku. The silveret was heavily panting, having just taken the boy from behind and cumming his second round into him.

"Riku…" he said, breathlessly, sweat dripping down the side of his temple. "Take me again?"

Surprisingly, Riku didn't need to make himself hard again, his anatomy swelling up to its full size within seconds of Sora's request. He'd heard once that not resting between periods was bad for his body, but he neither had the mind to care, nor the will to resist fucking Sora again.

He didn't bother to move Sora out of his position, to the brunet's mild surprise. Riku kept Sora's leg in its position swung over the side, spat in his hand to remoisten himself, gripped the top of Sora's hip and entered the boy yet again.

The quick change in style washed over the young brunet, leaving him only to open his mouth with non-verbal appreciation. Riku rubbed his warm, sweaty hand from around the curve of Sora's cheek, up his thigh and brought his leg up towards their chests.

Each thrust, then being delivered less forcefully than before, pulsated through him and ran along his twisted spinal column. The stretch in his leg added a new, if not strangely gratifying, sensation to his position, and it also spread him out a little more, easing the friction in his opening.

Riku rocked back and forth, stimulating a different area of his insides. Grabbing a hold of Sora's twitching fingers; he brought them both towards a new kind of release.

A long, chemical-infused cry drew itself from Sora's lips and drowned them both in its euphoria. Riku collapsed above the boy's waist, feeling the entirety of their actions for the night; his body shook with the effects of a workout he'd never imagined.

Blearily, Sora turned over and reached down to cradle Riku's head and pull him up to lie on his upper stomach (avoiding the mess just below). Not caring for their unique position he'd created for them to catch their breaths in, he rested his head back against the bed and absently played with the strands of silver hair tickling his hips. Completely sated, he drowsily stared at the ceiling when a mischievous grin appeared on his mouth and Riku began to kiss the side of his ribs.

"Hey Riku," he said with a slightly hoarse voice. "You know what I just realized?"

"Mm, what's that?"

Sora smiled. "You're my lover." The laugh tickled the sensitive skin of his belly.

"I guess I am."

"Hehe…" He grinned wider and proclaimed with joy and fascination, "'Lover'. I like saying that."

"I like hearing you say it."

Within minutes, their bodies gave in to the exhaustion; thought it didn't stop the content smiles on their faces.

* * *

_**Did you like it? Did you like it? :D  
Leave a review for me won'tcha?  
****And feel free to compare and contrast ;D  
Thanks to my beta LalaHachi!  
**__**And to all you readers! ^^**_

_**Happy New Year, everyone!**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin **_


	33. XXXIII' The Joys of Life: Men & Boys

_**33.**_

"Can we get this over and done with?" Saix asked, irritatedly.

"Chill will you? My dad left on a two-week business trip." Xigbar informed from the kitchen, which he was actively raiding. "Left me three condoms 'nd a twenty dollar bill. That's supposed to last me 14 days?" He reached for a slice of bread, scoffing.

"I don't know about the money, but the prophylactics should last you 'til your second marriage."

"Kiss my ass."

"If it'll get you to finish this faster, gladly."

"Let it go, Saix." Xemnas said from beside him at the table. He'd known Xigbar the longest and knew how the nineteen-year-old's relationship with his father was. With that said, he didn't mind the stoner eating out of his fridge once in a while. Saix did not share the sentiment.

The three boys were given a group assignment to complete; their extended due date rapidly approaching. If they'd be able to sit down for at least an hour, sober and mellow, Saix knew they'd have been done days ago.

However, when Xigbar was around, his boyfriend seemed to encourage his slacker attitude and a lot of nothing would be getting done.

Saix scratched his head in annoyance when Xigbar took his sweet time making a stupid sandwich. Xemnas rubbed the teen's back, comfortingly, but it nothing to stop the acid-yellow glare from getting to the pony-tailed boy.

"Okay! Okay! Let's go."

* * *

Leon folded his arms behind his head, squishing his interlaced fingers into the pillow. The house was quiet. He'd just noticed how big his home really was. Without his husband or his boys in the house… it wasn't a very settling feeling. He turned to his left side, looking towards Cloud's side of the bed.

He'd missed him lately.

Nowadays, he'd been seeing less and less of his favourite person around the house. To come to think of it, the answer Cloud usually gave was work and that he'd been given further deliveries lately, causing him to work overtime a couple days a week. Well, Cloud didn't seem to be unhappy about it. Nor did the man seem significantly more tired than usual. Sure he was distant, but if anything, Cloud looked happier.

Leon smiled at that fact. Work was not a curse, and in Cloud's case, it was even enjoyable, and that was good to know. The brown-haired man shut his eyes, ready for sleep to take him. What would he do without his family? Without the three pieces of him running around, living their lives, with him? It'd been hard for the past few weeks, with Roxas' moods and its strain on the rest them, but that seemed to have dialled down as of late. Looking back, he probably should have known it to be a teenager thing. But things were getting better in their lives, and Leon couldn't help but say a thank-you prayer to the Boss upstairs.

_Thank You for my family._

* * *

"Zexion, dear?" Demyx's mom poked her head into the bedroom and the slate-haired teen looked up from his book. Dark brown hair, curled at the bottom framed her ever-friendly face, while her bright green eyes always made him feel welcome. "Are you staying the night again?" she asked with a smile.

"If it's all right with you, Ms. O'Donohue," he replied politely with a quirk of the lips, which, if you'd known Zexion long enough, roughly converted into an actual, normal person's smile. It was nearing ten in the evening and the boys had been finishing their homework for the next week. Demyx was crouching over English vocabulary at his desk while Zexion had finished up his philosophy reading and moved onto… regular reading, on Demyx's bed.

"Just help yourself to whatever's in the fridge if you feel hungry, okay?"

"Thanks mom!" Her son called from over his shoulder, still scribbling away in his binder.

She smiled and looked to the boy on his bed, for she knew Demyx had never really taken school seriously –until the day Zexion had walked into his life. And ever since then, her daydreamer; class clown; slacker of a son had opened his eyes, taken his education a little more seriously, and still manage to be the cheery, bubbly and sunny person everyone loved.

_Honestly, what more could a mother ask for?_

"Good night, you two." She softly closed the door, a proud expression on her face.

At his computer chair, Demyx yawned, reaching out like a star, "I'm finish't!" He dropped his arms and slouched with a sharp exhale. After some rhythmic cracking of his knuckles, the senior tidied up his desk, putting everything in piles and in relatively right angles. (Another habit he'd picked up or had been careened into by Zexion, who had kept losing fountain pens under masses of loose-leaf pages.)

"Are you _in the mood_?" Zexion looked at him seriously.

Demyx scrunched his nose in thought. "Mm, not really. I'm kind of tired."

"I thought as much." Zexion placed the book face down on his lap, stretched then rubbed his eyes. "Time for bed," he said, scooting over to the left side of Demyx's blue bed. The blond took off his trousers, throwing them in the general direction of his closet behind him, along with his school shirt.

He slipped in next to his boyfriend in his boxers and thin undershirt, wiggling around to get comfy. "Aren't you sleeping too?"

"I'm just finishing off this chapter." Zexion flipped a page of the blue and grey, paper backed novel, Auch das Schone, which Demyx had discovered from the English version of the included poem, had roughly meant 'Even the Beautiful Die.'

"Oh," was Demyx's only response as he nestled into his spot and snuggled his pillow. A short while later, the boy nearing the lull in his consciousness, he asked, "Hey Zexy? Will you… read to me?"

Zexion looked down at him, both his eyes visible to Demyx in this position. "I don't know if it's your style. Or if you'd understand from where I am in the book."

Demyx sighed sleepily and latched onto the edge of Zexion's sweater. "That's okay."

Zexion's smooth, melodic voice suited the long and intricate descriptions, and changed slightly which each character's dialogue. The science- fiction story had taken place on a station called Colony III-α where various commanders and N'Darie officers worked and lived in harmony. Demyx began to lose himself in the way Zexion described a garden, in which a beautiful and soft-spoken woman from N'Daria had often spent time in repose.

At the end of the chapter, Zexion shut the novel softly and placed it on the bedside table, careful not to make harsh movements and rouse the sleeping figure at his waist. Demyx stirred when he pulled the chain of the lamp.

Slowly, he lowered himself completely onto his back and sighed deeply, completely ready for the subsequent REM cycle. A soft arm appeared across his chest and Demyx clutched onto Zexion's right shoulder. "Thank you, Zexy," he muttered while stroking the older boy's sliver, silky locks. "I love it when you're the last person I see, feel, talk to," he yawned. "And hear."

Zexion's eyes shot open in surprise. But no, that late at night wasn't the time to be thinking about such weighty subjects. God knows how his sleep was crucial to him. And if he began to think about how much Demyx meant to him and how they were doing lately and that huge proverbial drop off after high school that would be there before he knew it … he'd have bags under his eyes the size of **blimps** in the morning. Zexion focused on how comfortable he was at the moment then subtly sniffed the soft, blond hair. "Goodnight, Demyx." And Demyx quietly snored in response.

* * *

Roxas smiled into the arm tucked beneath his neck. _Yes_, he thought. Hell yes. He was in bed with the sexiest man in the universe, naked and enveloped in his sexy naked body; he was far, far away from home; he'd just been given sex about four times in the last six hours; he hadn't lied to his dad to get into his current situation, which was more gratifying than it sounded; and he'd just given Axel (the sexy, smoldering, red-headed Axel) his virginity.

The second to last in that list reminded him to check his phone. It had buzzed more than an hour and a half ago and probably fell to the ground during their mating session. Roxas slowly peeled the thin duvet off his body and sat up, his eyes crinkling at the growing discomfort in his backside. Axel stirred beside him, but didn't wake, and Roxas let out his breath.

Reaching over the side, he carefully patted around to locate his phone. No… that was a wrapper. No… that was a Red Bull can. No… that was one of his socks. When he finally grabbed a hold of the chunky piece of plastic, he flipped it open and the white light glared into his face.

**Fr: Leon  
Cc: Sora**

_Well, aren't you two are the luckiest boys in the world?_

_Cloud had a delivery in New York. He won't be back until tomorrow night._

_Roxas, that's not very comforting._

_You two be home before 9:00. I mean it._

**Sent: 11:27PM on /03/05/10/**

Roxas smirked. That time would very well be a late post-meridiem hour. He had nothing to worry about, other than getting home before Cloud. They'd just wing it tomorrow; one of Roxas' favourite things to do with the older boy. He placed his cell phone on the table beside the bed and nimbly slipped bed into his sleeping position. But one more sight of Axel sleeping and he couldn't resist. Roxas pressed his lips lightly against Axel's and whispered 'love you.' It felt weird to say it, but it had just come out. The blond didn't think any more about it and let the older boy's breathing lull him to sleep.

* * *

_**End of Friday**_

Riku awoke at around six in the morning to an unpleasant buzz saw noise. _Like a tractor refusing to start, starting, then giving up. _Blinking and astounded at Sora above him, he carefully lifted himself off the smaller body to do some business with a toilet. He came back to the room, (extinguished the pyrotechnics and let the morning greyness be the sole illumination) and found Sora more or less quieter than before, having rolled a little onto his side. But Riku wasn't exactly satisfied.

Sora may or may not have woken up to Riku sucking him off, straining to grip onto the silveret with his weak fists as he came.

Riku may or may not have also used the boy's confused state to his advantage; climbing into bed, then wrapping his arms around his lover for a few more hours of _quiet _sleep.

* * *

_**BWAHAHA I couldn't resist but to update again xP**_  
_**Don't you love me for it? I know you do :D**_

Gah, and don't you just feel for Leon? 

_**Auch das Schone is a real book by Lady Karai !  
I won it P And it's sequel! -yay- ^^**_

_**Review for me, lovelies ~**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin **_


	34. XXXIV' The Joys of Life: Riku & Axel

_**Saturday**_

_**34.**_

It crept into his senses; through the morning fog; through streams of sunlight peeking past the clouds. In the room 138 of the Delta hotel in Niagara, it carefully eased him into an uncomfortable awareness. Flashes of scenes spun in his mind, yet the second he thought to remember what happened and think of what it meant… he couldn't. He couldn't remember and it left a stale, cold 'wall' feeling. What is this?

Roxas awoke in a small heap of white linens. A joyful incandescence, cast into the room, wrapped his body in the combined warmth, comforting his way into the waking world. It pinged in his mind. It rubbed against his stomach. It mildly swept into the inner layers of his self, ringing with _something._ Something was different, he could tell. But it was something wrong.

Blue eyes, growing more alert by the second, stared through the bed sheets near his face. What was that feeling? He lifted his head from a pillow-less bed, carrying himself on his arm, and peeling his blond head from the bedding. He was suddenly met with the scent of coffee.

"Hey." Roxas turned around towards the source of light, where the tall redhead was leaning. His back and upturned head were pressed against the smoothened wall of the room, a mug in hand. Axel.

"Hey," he responded, his voice still bearing the weight of sleep. "What are you doing?"

Axel pursed his lips and momentarily glanced back at the scenery beyond the glass. "Nothing." The light played along the elegant curves of his face and stature of his body. Axel looked far too good for the morning, Roxas thought as the redhead looked back at him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good." The smiles on their faces were far from fake, yet Roxas sensed the twinge of awkwardness in their exchanges. Or was it?

Was it Axel? Was it the situation? What was making him feel this way? Lingering on the thought was put aside when Axel approached the bed. Tucking a leg beneath him, Axel leaned on his right arm in his spot next to the blond. "I'm thinking you want to be home sometime in the early afternoon, so how about we go get something to eat and hit the road 'round noon?"

"Okay." Roxas smiled pleasantly. Flashes of last night's events appeared in his mind, at the close presence of the older boy. Willingly or not, the thoughts made their way to the rest of his body, making him fully remember every kiss, thrust and convulse they'd created. The smile turned coy, when Axel continued.

"It's 9:45 right now." Now he was just _asking _for it.

"We've got lots of time." Roxas snaked an arm around Axel's neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Placing the cup of coffee onto the bedside table, Axel didn't restrain from being pulled onto the petite body. Roxas was suddenly very aware that he was naked, while Axel at least had his boxers on. The thin sheet draped over his waist gradually became nonexistent just as Axel snaked his tongue into his mouth.

He tasted the slightly bitter substance in his mouth. Coffee. Black. _Yuck._ That was when Roxas hastily pushed Axel off him, for his mouth was _definitely_ no better. He clapped a hand over his mouth with embarrassment to which Axel chuckled at.

"I called for some toothpaste earlier. It's by the sink."

"Thank you." Roxas mumbled, pulling the loose sheet around his waist with one hand, the other still covering his mouth, and entered the bathroom. Resolving to brushing his teeth with his finger, which was probably what Axel had done as well, he moved on to fix his hair a little; making it look less 'bed-head' and more 'I look good in bed. Fancy a tumble?' Then he tied the sheet around his waist for a good Greek-god-statue effect and slowly walked out of the bathroom.

Axel was at his seat by the window again when his head turned back to briefly check Roxas out, to the boy's silent approval. Roxas didn't do that thing, where you gently touch the door frame around you to make you look sexier. But he did cross his arms (and ankles, to toe the carpet teasingly) and lean from a good feet away from the wall. It was a small attempt to masculine-ize the former position and still look appealing.

After playing with his bottom lip a little with his now fresh teeth, he said with an apathetic face and a slightly less than suggestive tone, "I think I'm gonna take a shower." When Axel nodded silently, he kept their eye contact a second and a half longer and slowly lifted his shoulders off the ugly, beige-coloured wall and back into the bathroom.

Axel watched as Roxas (purposely) left the door an inch open; listened to the shower curtain being pulled back then forth, then the water running and hitting the basin; then thought of the water hitting a naked Roxas.

He'd seen it all last night; it wasn't new to him anymore. Roxas was fine. A cute, petite body with an angelic face and head of golden hair? Definitely drool-worthy and something he'd want to bang again in the future. He didn't know what he'd been thinking yesterday. Roxas wasn't some deity or supernatural being. He was just a regular, human boy. And a very sexy one at that. Maybe it had been the nervousness of the boy that threw him off, and the fact that he'd been a virgin.

All Axel knew then and what he'd contemplated while watching the boy sleep, was that his feeling of apprehension from yesterday was gone and he was back to being Axel. He smiled proudly at that. He didn't like questioning the validity of his identity. He was back to being that comfortable seventeen-year old boy everybody knew.

Just when he reconfirmed that in his mind, Roxas voice echoed from the bathroom. "Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?" Axel smirked. Oh yeah, this was being back to normal. He slipped off his boxers and with a flick of his wrist sent them towards the general direction of the bed.

When he pulled the white curtain aside, he grinned amusedly. "Miss me already, eh?" Roxas wasted no time in pulling him inside. Despite the excessive amount of hot water used, the room was much steamier after that.

* * *

Sora awoke with a soft gasp. As his eyes shot open, he was troubled; searching his mind what he'd just seen. Or felt. _One of those dreams_, he supposed, though it triggered an uncannily familiar sensation in his stomach.

"What is it?"

The brunet was suddenly very aware of the boy behind him, cradling him against his chest. "Nothing." He gently cleared his throat. "Nothing's wrong. I just felt… something weird."

A hum was his given response. Then an arm snaked up from around his hip and rubbed around his chest, closing the spaces between them. "Maybe it's the feeling of finally waking up with me." Sora giggled.

"I've woken up next to you lots of times before." He stifled a shiver when Riku softly kissed his left shoulder and nuzzled into his neck.

"Mmm, that's right," He admitted, though it was understandable that he couldn't compare any of those times to this one. Not just because they were both nude. "But this time is entirely different." Sora smiled and agreed, feeling the subtle thrill fluttering near his heart. "Only took us nearly a decade to get here." They both smiled.

"Are you … hurt?" Riku asked, tentatively.

"Ehh, a little. It'll prolly hurt more later on, but I'm okay now." Then he whispered, "Promise." Sora then quickly bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from smiling, which resulted his lips to take an even tighter and more strained expression. "How's your back?"

"…Stings a bit," he replied truthfully.

"Oh." His bottom lip remained tucked beneath his teeth, with more remorse than amusement. "I hope I didn't get you too bad."

"I hope you did."

Sora bowed his head and touched Riku's fingertips with his lips, until they clasped the side of his soft cheek. The brunet sighed at the comfort and closed his eyes once more. A while later, Sora asked aloud, "'Ku, what time is it?"

"Time to forget about the rest of the world and let me focus on holding you?"

"Riku…" he laughed, not wanting to do any less than what the silveret had offered. He turned around. "We have to get up eventually."

To try to distract him, Riku kissed Sora's lips. His right arm, that had been under the boy's neck for the majority of the day, wasted no time in petting the soft tufts of Sora's brown mane. It soon turned into a slow make-out session, never escalating more than being comfortable which each other. Sora had straddled Riku's waist, feeling lost in the way the silveret's fingers wove themselves in his hair; Riku, in Sora's firm grip at his sides.

Riku pulled back and rested against his pillow to look up at the boy. He stroked Sora's left hand with only a flicker in their eye contact. "So… lovely." As he whispered that, a faint blush drew across the younger boy's cheeks and his blue eyes turn down for a second, in mild self-awareness and the choice of words used. Riku smiled and patted the sides of Sora's hips. "What can I do for you?"

Tilting his head, Sora smiled. "Huh?"

A troubled expression flashed across Riku's face. "I dunno. But after last night," he paused, picking his words carefully. "It's like I don't want to be away from you for another day. Even if you are next door." _Or in another class, or on another street._ Sora brightened and leaned down to hug Riku, realizing that he felt the same way.

_I want to do something for you. _Riku wrappedhis arms around the smaller body. _Let me feel how happy I can make you. Let me match that happiness I felt from you last night. _He couldn't understand why he was feeling so cheesy, but his feelings were clearer to him and he couldn't stop that even if he tried.

"How about we go out tonight?" Sora said, shortly after. "After I take care of things at home, make a quasi-appearance to the family… we can go get something to eat and hang out. Just you and me."

Riku smiled honestly. "I'd like that." Sora pecked him on the lips and retreated a little further than Riku would have liked. "You're getting up?" Sora grinned, picking up his boxers. "You're getting dressed!"

"Err, YEAH..."

"Why?" he raised himself on his elbows.

"Well, look!" Sora motioned to the rest of the room. It looked askew with the mess of candles; the sporadic articles of clothing; and the bottle that had fallen off the bed at some point in the morning, leaving a small pool of clear liquid on the carpet. The room was in a considerable amount of mess... only Riku's eyes remained fixed on one thing.

"I _am _looking," he blinked to harden his gaze as he stated with mock-irritation. This was also weird to hear himself think it, but truthfully, Riku already missed Sora. …Yeah, he'd never say that out loud.

Sora felt unable to stifle his smiles. He located Riku's undergarments and handed it to him once the boy had reluctantly sat upright on the edge of his bedframe. "It's 11:15. My dad could be home soon."

"He won't be home for at least a couple hours." Riku protested and silently bit the inside of his cheek at the utterance of information he shouldn't have known. Sora didn't think anything of it and kissed the top of his head.

They tidied up the room in general silence, Riku apologetically glancing at Sora every few times he winced in discomfort. A quick wipe-down of his body with a wash-cloth, a pill of Tylenol and redressing of yesterday's clothing, Sora lingered in the foyer, dreading the moment they'd have to let go of each other.

"Thank you, Riku," he murmured into the other's shoulder. "Thanks for... being so great." Sora couldn't imagine his first time being any better. He knew he'd been right to trust him with something like touching and even looking at his body. Privacy, boundaries and such, the boy knew about from years past. And now, in this point in his life, Sora just knew that Riku was deserving –so much, that he wondered if the _reverse_ was true. He didn't think about it right then. "So, seven?" He looked up into Riku's aquamarine eyes. The silveret nodded and kissed Sora's lips. Then Sora pulled the door open. "Later," he said, and Riku leant against the frame as Sora trotted down the porch steps. They both felt a bit sad at that, but looked up at the arrival of a truck in the adjacent driveway.

Identical grins of mischief crossed the twins' faces when they looked at each other's respective partners.

Roxas turned back to the driver whilst undoing his seatbelt. "So you'll call me?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah." They kissed goodbye, the blond muttering a shy 'thanks' under his breath, then went to join his brother. The two quietly entered their house, little past 12:30.

Pulling out of the asphalt, Axel sent an amused glance at Riku, who returned it with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow, before turning back into his own home. _Well, I'll be damned._

* * *

Nearly twenty minutes later, Axel found himself in his own familiar driveway. He briefly announced his presence to his parents sitting comfortably on the couch, reassuring them that he was home, safe and in one piece. Climbing to the second floor, he opened his bedroom door to an unexpected sight.

"Yo." Saix said lazily from the redhead's bed; eyes, blood shot; school uniform, mussed; and a small, blue pipe in hand.

Axel hastily shut the door. "Dude, does my mom know you're up here?"

"Saw me climbing into your window a couple hours ago," he shrugged uncaringly. Axel stomped over to the said window and pulling it open, airing out the sickening smell of weed. A little more calmly, he leant on his wall and faced the blue-haired teen.

"What're you doing here, man?"

Saix exhaled his hit with a slight cough. "Just chillin'."

"Why aren't you blazing in your own apartment?"

"Fuck, do you want me to leave?" Saix shot up the best his body would allow, yellow and red-tinted eyes locking dangerously on to his friend.

"No, I'm just asking." Axel knew better than to antagonize the boy in this state, as Saix could easily turn violent when high. "What the hell happened?"

"Nothing." Saix responded shortly and laid back down on Axel's pillow, which the redhead knew he'd have to throw out after today. "Where'd _you_ go last night?"

"Just around."

"Where were you just _now_?" he continued.

"Who the fuck are you? My mother?" Axel asked sharply, even though his mother didn't normally act half as interested as Saix was then.

_No, I'm supposed to be your best friend,_ Saix thought bitterly and narrowed his eyes. If Axel had been fooling around last night, the redhead would have no problem telling him as easily as answering what he'd have for breakfast. But Axel was clearly fronting. His clothes clearly signified that something of the sort had actually occurred the previous night. "Doesn't look like you went to practice this morning." He said, calculatingly, watching as Axel groaned at the reminder of basketball. The captain missing his own team practice didn't look very good.

"I was out with Roxas," he admitted, finally. He knew Saix wouldn't like to hear that, since he didn't particularly like new people. Or just people.

Saix raised his eyebrows and they both stayed in silence for a while. It was rather awkward; Axel knew of Saix's mild dislike, but everything regarding Roxas specifically, remained unspoken and unaddressed, until Saix asked the following: "So what's going on with you, dude?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's going on with you and blondie?" He raised his voice a little at the mention of Roxas. "You guys dealing or what?"

"No!" Axel insisted. "We just went out, hung out." He threw his words together the best he could but Saix remained unconvinced. "Yeah, we fucked a bit, but it that's it." Axel shrugged, passing the conversation over to Saix for him to continue. At times like these, saying as little as possible was probably best to hide what you didn't _entirely_ mean, or even had the mind to think about yet.

Saix packed another bowl. "Whatever."

That hadn't been the reaction he had hoped for. "Saix-."

The bluenet's head snapped back to him. "Look, can we not talk about this? Or anything?" In his blurry mind, two things remained crystal: One; he was not going to go home. And two; he did not want to think about why. The memory of two men going at it on his bed while they thought he was asleep unwilling flashed in his mind and he pushed it instantly away.

Though it was a strange request, for Saix was the one in Axel's room, the redhead said nothing more about it, sitting down on the bed so they were opposite each other. He sighed, looking at his best friend and uncaringly let Saix pass him the rounded, glass pipe.

* * *

_**What's up guys? :D **_  
_**Love the reviews I'm getting! I'm almost up to a hundred ~**_  
_**Hope I haven't been taking /too/ long with my updates. **_  
_**If you guys wanna request stuff, I'm totally open to that too ^^**_  
_**Thanks for everyone who's been reading. I feel the love (L)**_

_**-passes around ice cream-**_

_**Hey, do you all like these longer chapters I've been doing lately? :O **_

_**YHS**_  
_**xDelfin **_


	35. XXXV' The Joys of Life: Males & Females

_**35.**_

There are many kinds of silences: The Lazy Silence, where no one has the energy to break it; The Enforced Silence, that teachers break periodically by saying 'SHHHLHLHLHLHLH!'; The Elevator Silence, following an artificial acknowledgement of another's well-being and no longer filled by the out-of-date Elevator Music; The Comfortable Silence, when two or more people are so compatible, that no intelligible noises are required as forms of communication; The Parental Silence, when one is on the phone with someone the parent disapproves of; The Virtual Silence, succeeded by exchanges of 'Hey,' 'What's up?,' 'Not much,' and 'Same,' and often followed by 'so…' and '- has logged off.'; The Car Silence, when both parents are so mad, neither have thought of turning on the radio; The Library Silence that is too good to be true and accompanied by lots of air conditioning; The Intense Silence, where it is so silent, one can hear the motion of one's electrons in their brain; The Awkward Silence, followed by The Awkward Turtle; The Pretentious Silence, when a bitch thinks they're better than you and doesn't talk to you; The Phone Silence, where one person has fallen asleep; and finally, The Morning Silence.

The Morning Silence is generally when everyone's jaw is still asleep and therefore, no one talks. This is also pleasing to the ears who are also in the process of waking up and don't want to hear a frikking thing. Xion likes morning silences; they're peaceful, cozy, and completely comfortable, perfect to start her day with. She enjoys them; respects them.

…Except when a very unsightly red blur of Kairi, trips over her leg to get to the garbage, hurling ensues and subsequently rouses others in the room. Unforeseeably, however, 'others' also included a very heavy Kadaj. 'Heavy', as in he had his entire upper body resting heavily against Xion's. Their legs were loosely intertwined, and his head was flopped carelessly to the side, just beneath her bust.

That was when Xion Stone broke the Morning Silence.

Her scream was surprisingly very shrill, for the first exercise of the day, and it resulted in everyone in the room squeezing their head to prevent them from splitting open. It didn't help her shock when Kadaj squinted and looked her. Looked at her from not 3 inches away.

It took all of 3 seconds and 4 and a half self-defence maneuvers for Kadaj to curl into his self, and nurse his injured balls.

There were uttered words ranging from shouts to mutters of 'hentai' and 'perverti' as Xion stomped out of the Kairi's room and into the adjacent bathroom.

Kairi took her head out of the garbage to announce, "I suppose she's getting the first shower." The sound of water being turned on was heard and she dipped back into the receptacle.

Namine stepped over the youngest Crescent to get to Kairi. Neither cared, for seconds later, the blonde's throat convulsed and she too, expelled the previous night's alcohol. It was Yazoo who came to quickly kneel by his groaning brother. "I don't think she realizes how hung over I am," Kadaj choked out from behind stringy, mid-length hair.

"I think she does; she was with you the whole time," he reasoned before going over to the girls.

When he got his bearings, somewhat together, Kadaj looked around the room. Kairi and Namine were taking turns emptying their stomachs. Loz was wiping his eyes and rubbing Kairi's back comfortingly, telling her to keep going. Yazoo was at Namine's side, holding her longer hair back for her. "Ugh, this is so unladylike!" Namine winced as bile did elevator runs in her throat.

Yazoo grinned sympathetically. "Go get some tissue, would you?" he looked to Kadaj, who unwillingly, got up and went to the bathroom, squinting/scowling at the world. "Don't worry. It wasn't long ago that I was low-tolerance as well." Namine pouted as best she could, disbelievingly. "Honestly." Yazoo continued, looking to Loz for back up. "We looked worse. With our pasty white skin and silver hair? We made very convincing apparitions." He and Namine both smiled.

"Hentai! Perverti!"

"How was I supposed to know you turn the water on before getting in?"

"Get out!"

"I swear I wasn't peeking on you!"

"UGH!"

Xion's powerful volume mixed with the acoustics in the tiled room did not sooth Kadaj's headache, especially when the door was slammed shut. The twenty-year-old held his skull painfully, a box of tissues in his other hand. Loz shot him a confused look.

"Apparently, one has to wait for the water to heat up." He waved his hands mockingly, tossing the box towards Yazoo. "How was I to know she'd be nude?" He scowled and plopped back, messily onto the carpet, leaning back against Kairi's bed.

"Didn't you knock?" Kairi asked, obviousness dripping in her tone.

"Quiet, woman! I haven't started functioning yet!" he growled and climbed into the pink and red bedsheets, burying his aching head in Kairi's pillow.

The redhead snorted, "Clearly." Two hours later, everyone showered and somewhat fresh, the group collapsed about the kitchen. No one felt the vigour to cook, unless it was turning on the coffee maker, so Loz, most able, volunteered to pick up some lunch, on the way back from the golf course to retrieve Kairi's car.

The rest of the day was spent in Kairi's living room, nursing down tacos and coffee, with little mention of partying that heavily again. Even though they knew it wouldn't be long.

Everyone felt sluggish; even Loz and Xion, both of whom could hold their liquor. Xion's morning rage at a certain Crescent brother subsided with the arrival of food, not to mention the full two feet of distance between them as they ate. Kadaj knew he'd done nothing wrong (on purpose), so there was little concern for the black-haired girl when she looked nowhere in his direction. There was even less concern when, as everyone finished eating and decided to bum around and watch TV, Xion pulled a pillow over his lap and made herself comfortable. Kadaj shared a glance with Kairi on Xion's other side. 'This girl definitely makes my life interesting…' Kairi just smiled, rested her head on Loz's shoulder and remained silent.

* * *

_**Yay! I updated! Yay! You guys are gonna review! ..Right? :D  
Thanks to all my readers! Old and new! Borrowed and blue! …yeah.  
Hey, who likes Vexen? Cuz he stars in the next chapter xP  
Review please ^^**_

_**Your Humble Servant  
xDelfin**_


	36. XXXVI' It's Complicated: Vexen

_**36.**_

_Alright, time for bed._

Vexen shut his desk lamp off and rolled back in his chair, took off his glasses and rubbed the heel of his palm into his eyes. Biology was done. English was done. Chemistry was done three weeks ago. Calculus… he'd call Xion tomorrow.

_Wow_. It was only ten-thirty and he was already falling over himself with weariness. With that, a strange feeling resonated from somewhere in the back of his mind, but he decided to ignore it, knowing he'd be completely out of it by the time his head hit the pillow.

He hit the mattress, messily throwing the blanket over his legs in his sleepy state. Normally he slept on his right side, an arm curling beneath his pillow and the other resting next to his chest; however, two seconds later, _Nope. Doesn't work._ He rolled onto his back, keeping his right hand up near his head. He briefly recalled one being prone to sleep paralysis this way; opening up your heart to the spirits and such. Not that he believed in such a thing.

He attempted to sink into his mattress, like a good yoga student.

_No._

He put both his hands down, overtop his thigh, trying to warm his fingers up. _Hmmm._

He adjusted his neck, left.

Then right.

He groaned.

Vexen took his exhausted body and turned to lie on his left side. What was wrong with him? Vexen was tired beyond belief, taking so much effort to make such adjustments in his position. Absently, he could feel the rapid beating of his heart in his chest, a clear indication of this abnormality, so the blond decided to further distract himself by reviewing his homework in his head until he could fall into unconsciousness.

Equations of math and physics, along with their corresponding graphs zoomed in his mind. 'Solve:' But he got stuck on one side of the equal sign, and before he could think of why it was wrong, he had forgotten his work and the problem was pulled into the darkness of oblivion. Vexen's head swirled in the darkness, making him feel nauseated. But he could feel nothing in his stomach.

His stereo had been playing, filling the silence with random bands on his iPod. Long songs went by like a train, and by the end of each, he found himself saying, _'wow, over already?'_Short songs were different, he noticed, taking forever to get through. His usually collected head hurt. On the inside. This infuriated him further, since he could do nothing to ease such a pain. He flopped onto his back.

_Today was Saturday. Tomorrow was Sunday. The__Day after was school. Day two. He had a biology quiz in second, a physics test in third. Fifth period lunch. Demyx sat across from him. Zexion to his left, Larxene sat on Demyx's right. That girl still had his calculator. Vexen would have to borrow Xion's. Xion has black hair. Her pale face almost pops out when she wears her entirely black uniform. She had a three on her collar. He had three classes each day this year. Eighteen percent of the year had gone by. Tomorrow, the moon would be 52% illuminated. Saix likes the moon. Maybe in the next full moon, the blue-haired teen would be seen howling at it. A large blue wolf-like figure seemed to emerge from the darkness of Vexen's mind and charge right at him._

Vexen frowned at his ceiling then closed his eyes again.

_Blue. When the air hole of a Bunsen burner is open, the flame is purple on the outside and blue on the inside. With a snap of a finger and a dangerously familiar smirk, red-orange flames suddenly filled his vision and engulfed his frail body._

Vexen's eyes shot open. He looked around: his stereo was still playing, in his room, in his un-incinerated house. The teen rest his head back down. This had never happened before. And wonderful; he began to feel a headache coming on.

He let his eyes slip shut slowly. _He was in a field. Grass. There was nothing but tall, green, wild grass as far as he could 'see.' Vexen paid no attention to what time of day it was, if it was day at all. The sky overhead wasn't bright, nor was it dim in the slightest, its moderate glow allowing him to see and not be particularly drawn to an excess amount of light. Everything seemed to be between light and dark, when a flash pricked the corner of his eye. It was only moments later that he found himself walking towards it, parting the stalk-like greenery at his waist to get closer. A large rosebud._

_It suddenly looked as though it was larger than himself, which was odd, since it seemed as small as a regular flower just a second ago. It was tall and upright like a pod. As he realized this, its walls became more solid-looking and firm, as though it were made of metal and not soft like normal petals would. The pod began to glow; mostly at the top, where the lips gathered, a white light revealed the bud's true colour: a stained red that then became a softer blush. The light from within grew stronger and stronger until the blush was no more than a faint pink. And just before the flower turned completely white, it began to open._

_The light spread everywhere, tainting the rest of the landscape with its purity. It nearly blinded him, but he felt no urge in his body to look or turn away. The landscape disappeared, and everything the light had touched, became part of a white room. He hadn't noticed when it had happened, being solely focused on the source of pure light, but a brief glance at his peripherals and it was true; he was in a white room, large enough to be part of a castle._

_The large, pink petals dropped to waist-height, and inside the layers of real plant membrane, lay a huddled figure in the centre. The brightness of the light began to dissipate, as it spilled out into the room and Vexen could slowly make out that the figure… was a person._

_The person lifted their arms above their head as if yawning, though no sound was emitted._Just like in space. _As they began to get up and stand in their spot, they seemed to be clad in a floor-length coat _made_ of the light. It suddenly felt very warm; something Vexen hadn't noticed back in the field._

_He was very comfortable in that spot, standing there, and even when that person stepped onto the floor, the blond felt no such fear that would have beckoned him away from his spot. The person kept advancing towards him, not stopping even when they were less than a foot apart. The light proved too much at this range and Vexen found himself squinting, keeping the face of the person obscured._

_Surprisingly, it didn't feel wrong to have his sight hindered, almost as if the person had made to close his eyes for him. Hands, softer and more smooth than any flower he'd ever known, were suddenly on him; fingers stroking the sides of his narrow face._

_Vexen swallowed, chasing away the small flickers of nervousness. What did this mean? What was happening? Vexen was about to open his eyes, in hopes to better comprehend the situation, when… he was then very aware of that he was being kissed._

_The lips on his forehead were completely gentle and because the person's face was so close to him, his eyes automatically unfocused; pitifully attempting to make out the person's identity through their chin and neck._

_It was incomprehensible why he was just standing there, but his body turned to stone and Vexen didn't think to think why. And when the slight pressure above his eyes finally became non-existent, Vexen saw a brief flash of ice-blue orbs, before everything vanished._

Green eyes snapped open, but without shock or discomfort this time. This sort of feeling, as Vexen lay in bed, was nothing like he'd felt before his lapse from the world. He noted that his heartbeat was no longer racing, his temperature was somewhat moderate, his fingers weren't twitching or restless; he was back to normal.

'…_Was that you?_' he asked, half awake. _Thanks_. A brief glance at the time and he was mildly surprised that only an hour had gone by. He didn't bother to move out of his flat-pancake position on his back, for slight fear of disturbing his body after finally calming down. He mentally let the waves of tiredness flow back into him, filling himself with a physical lullaby. The unsettling feelings were gone, and what was left was the wonder of what had just happened in his subconscious. Wonder, indeed.

_**End of Saturday**_

* * *

_**Sunday**_

Vexen turned out of the main road and into the crescent. It was still kind of early; the sun had made its graceful appearance merely an hour ago, though the clouds sleepily droned on and chilled the city quite a bit. He readjusted the white collar of his blue sweater, when he felt a cool breeze swing by the houses he passed.

The neighbourhood was the common residential area, if not a little shoddy with a few unkempt front lawns and driveways here and there. Then in front of number 12, well trimmed boxes and planters adorning the front-facing windows, shone out like a purple thistle in the midst of a million dandelions.

Vexen walked across the driveway, into the alley the house made with the next one and stopped at the door labelled '2'. Marluxia lived in the basement of his parents' house, making the side door his own personal entrance. (It was a whole other address; separate mailboxes and everything!) Vexen pulled back the cuff of his sleeve and saw that it wasn't that early and the pink-haired teen should be awake by now. Marluxia could be a morning person when he wanted, and Vexen only hoped that he was conscious enough to have a semi-important conversation at this time.

The dream, in truth, wasn't very well-remembered. Details were grey, yet one of the main things that stuck out of his subconscious and poked into his main conscience was pink. Weird, indeed; Vexen thought the same when he woke up.

Unnecessarily tapping twice, he let himself in and walked down the wooden stairs. Three steps down, he was suddenly aware that during his whole trek to this house, his time would have been better spent thinking of what to say to the boy first than trying to remember more of the dream. And seven steps down, at the bottom of the steps, he …really didn't need to say anything.

The space was well lit by several lamps placed along the sides and corners. Something was cooking in the microwave of the pseudo-kitchen area, roughly having six minutes left to go. There was a medium-sized pile of laundry in one corner, mostly consisting of colourful t-shirts Marluixa tried to sneak under his uniform. The chunky (crappy), old TV was on, displaying a possibly week old episode of _'__Glee__'_. He found that show to be mildly irritating. They all had okay songs (meaning not _all_ were of that garbage passing of as mainstream and monopolizing the radio stations), but everything seemed to be about sex these days. And yes, while that's what's on teenagers' minds anyway, (the characters' problems coming off as realistic)… it just wasn't appealing to Vexen. _'Watch a damn soap opera if you need more drama in your life.'_

But that wasn't the reason Vexen was speechless. What it was, was the floor show he was getting; Larxene, bottom half shielded (he thanked Lord Jashin for that) by a grey blanket, riding Marluxia, who was propped up against the arm of the couch. From where Vexen was standing, the back of the couch shielded (again, _thank you_) most of the action, but that didn't hide the fact that the blonde's bra was pushed up underneath her shirt, the underwire poking out in random places.

It was a while before Vexen found his voice, but when he did, it came out as: "It is 10:30 on a Sunday morning. Really, guys?" He wasn't half surprised that they didn't stop, knowing that he was in the room. They didn't even _slow down_.

"What do you want, ice-boy?" Larxene's sharp voice never lost its malice. Not even while fucking. Not even while fucking, did she refrain from bringing up the class trip, where Vexen made a high record of the number of face-plants in an ice rink. Yeah, she can suck a cock. Oh _wait_…

Marluxia decided to translate. "She means either state your purpose, or join in."

"Thanks, I just ate." And with the decline of their offer, life went on, Vexen left without a single glance, and the pair on the couch finished before the microwave-d bacon was sizzling and done.

Vexen was no stranger to sexual intercourse. He'd even slept with Xion and Zexion once or twice. So it didn't bother him as much as he thought it'd would to see … what he'd just saw.

The walk home was uneventful. If Vexen believed in fate, being denied the chance to talk to Marluxia today, if for any weird reason, might have meant something. But he didn't believe. He'd see the boy tomorrow at school, see if anything was different in the way they'd interact, observe any repercussions it had on his sleep, and that was that. _No biggie._

* * *

**Hey guys, I'm actually going to college :D**

**I'm behind in more than half of my classes**

**My ex-girlfriend hates my guts**

**My mom finally came home**

**I performed a Gaara Monologue for my admission**

**My blood pressure finally took a dive yesterday**

**I have EKG residue on my abdomen**

**I totally put my sock on upside down this morning, and now there's a bump of a stretch on the top of my foot. Lawl.**

**So how've you been? :]**

**YHS  
xDelfin**


	37. XXXVII' It's Complicated: Cloud

_**37.**_

_**Sunday night at the Strife household**_

Ever since he'd come back from his 'business trip,' Leon had been bugging him about spending more time together. 'As a family.' _Just what I need._ Cloud stared at his steak and homemade fries. (And by 'homemade,' it meant that Sora popped it into the mini oven "all by himself!") His steak was cooked perfectly too: Medium; soft to the cut, traces of pink riddling the centre and undeniably _juicy_. Leon knew him too well.

The man bit the tip of his tongue. Cloud would like to think that his husband knew of his affair on some magic level; that he just knew from the look in his eyes, perhaps a shift in their relationship and sudden absence of his other half, and decided to accept it. Silently. _…No, that was dumb._

Cloud was torn.

He wanted to tell him. Leon had been around for nearly half his life. He's cared about the man long before he knew how to love and he's loved him longer than he could remember. That being said, what the hell was wrong with him?

Several weeks ago, he'd accidentally been given a 'Yazoo Crescent's' bank statement and went to drop it off next door. Naturally, Sephiroth answered. Apparently there was one of Cloud's mail mixed in with his pile too. The silveret smiled, invited Cloud in, fetched the item and gave him the mis-delivered biker magazine. Cloud said his thanks, opened the door then turned around to say goodbye.

And Sephiroth kissed him.

When he pulled away, they stared at each other for a long while; their eyes flickered back and forth between their gazes and their lips. He didn't think about it. Everything sitting on his shoulders from weeks before that moment seemed to melt in the way their lips had made contact. It was a kiss unlike any other he'd felt before; Cloud felt his body wanting more of that…comfort and ease? –Whatever it had been. Sephiroth leaned down again and Cloud didn't resist.

Months later, they'd been sneaking around, lying to their families about their oddly-timed whereabouts. They'd even coordinated their schedules, allowing them time for each other Monday nights, Wednesday mornings, Friday nights, and any time (or all) Sunday long. They did this to be inconspicuous. And because Cloud couldn't take two full nights in a row, let alone the morning after. One word echoed in the cold, empty, metallic cranium:

Stupid.

Can you hear the echo? It drowned out Sora and Roxas talking about… stuff.

"So Sora, what's new with you?"

"Look how swiftly he changes the subject." Roxas jested towards Leon.

"I got my religion test back today," he offered, perking up, as it was the test Leon had helped him study for, for the previous week. "I got an 87."

"That's wonderful, Sora." Leon smiled proudly at the boy, and then turned to Roxas, who was fiddling with his fork. "And you, Roxas?"

"This is why I hate sharing classes with you!" he complained, jokingly, jabbing the utensil at his brother. "If you got your test back, then obviously I got mine." He frowned.

"You can't hide everything from us, Roxas. We'd find out through your report card anyway."

"Yeah, but at least that's later on and you find out the overall mark; you don't pinpoint these particular instances…" he muttered, playing around with his rice. He looked back up to find Leon still staring expectantly at him. "I got a 73."

To that, Leon was satisfied for the brunet nodded, contemplating that grade. "Not bad. Respectable, even."

"See, Sora? 'Respectable.'" He said the last word with an intentional lisp. "With you it's 'wonderful, Sora~!" He waved his hands up near his head and adorned a circus-freak sort of expression to mock Leon's compliment to his brother. "He only says that since you got the higher mark (doesn't matter _what _mark) and he's compared us."

"We're twins; it's inevitable, so get over it." Sora deadpanned, stating the obvious.

Roxas pff-d and stabbed at his meat. "If you had gotten a 70, or even a 72 – ho ho ~ dad's reaction would have been completely different!"

"Oh, definitely. Then my money-maker would be you," Leon motioned to Roxas. "and then I'd _never_ be able to retire." Sora snickered at Roxas' not-amused face, despite the fact that Leon was smiling at him, signifying that he was indeed, only joking.

"Yeah, yeah. If anybody wins the lottery or gets famous, nobody tell Leon."

A little further through dinner, Leon asked again, "So nothing new happened this week? Roxas? Sora?"

The latter of the two put his fork down. "Well…" he smiled, looking across that table at his brother, who looked back at him excitedly and with slight bewilderment.

"Now?"

"Why not?" Sora shrugged, mirroring his twin's mischievous grin. "Dad," he looked at Leon. "Dad," he looked at Cloud. "You may be interested to know, that I," pause for effect, "have a boyfriend."

"Wow."

"That's great, Sora." Leon added. "Who is it?"

"It's Riku!"

Two sets of cutlery hit their plates in unison as well as the next uttered name. "Riku?" Sora's jaw slackened and his body stiffened under the surprised gazes from his two fathers and the room was filled with a stale silence.

"…Yeah, guys it's Riku." Roxas supplied, after a long while. "Is there a problem with that?"

Leon cleared his throat and ignored Roxas. "You slept over at that boy's house the other night. Did something _happen_ to make you two so suddenly close?" Chills ran both twins' spines.

"We've always been close." Sora said, doing his best not to look nervous like he was hiding anything. "Nothing happened!" Well… nothing happened that he didn't _want_ to happen. Sora never wanted to lie, but Leon's reactions were far from beckoning the full truth from him. He was in so much trouble; the only objective at this point was to get **out**.

Obviously, Leon didn't buy it. "You are not to see him again."

"WHAT?"

"You are not allowed to see him without another person present. Not unless you're in public. Am I clear?"

"As DIRT," Sora spat. "Dad, you can't tell me who I can or cannot date." Where was this coming from? Why was this happening? He never thought he'd have to defend his views on relationships. To _Leon_ for that matter.

"Dating's fine! Go ahead and date. That's not the issue here. It's the sleeping over, being alone in the house doing God knows what. It might have been okay when you were kids, but it's not anymore and I need you to understand that."

Sora took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. "Look, Riku is a great guy. He's smart, he's responsible and he cares about me. I'm starting a relationship with him that I'm really, _very _happy about!" He etched a small smile and directed it at the older brunet in hopes to comfort his fears and to emphasize the ingredient of happiness.

But Leon squinted. "'Starting a relationship with him'? You've already spent the night with him. How do you think that looks?" He asked seriously.

"This is Riku!" he said exasperatedly. "Riku; our friend; our neighbour, who we've known forever! The fact that we are first and foremost friends hasn't changed a bit! I've slept over at his house countless of times!"

"But not since you decided to get romantic with him," Leon added. "It's very different, Sora. You have to understand that it's very different!"

"Why can't you let me figure that out myself? This is probably the biggest and best thing that's ever happened to us." His tone then suddenly changed for the serious and completely adamant. "And we get to decide at what pace we go. Not you."

With that open-ended mention of confirmation, the lack of denial to what he had been meaning, Leon abruptly stood from the table. "I've heard enough."

"Dad!"

"This discussion is over, Sora," Leon shot back with a less than composed mood, for which he had attempted. The teen scowled at the table. It wasn't long before he too, left and ran up the staircase. Roxas and Cloud heard the slam of his bedroom door.

At the table, the younger blond looked at the stairs, then at the kitchen; then back to the stairs, and then to Cloud. "Am I crazy? That's supposed to be us, right?" Cloud just looked at him.

* * *

Cloud walked into the kitchen with his and his sons' plates, as Leon was absently scrubbing away at a black pan.

"You're quiet," Leon said, at the blond's arrival.

"So is Roxas." Who had gone upstairs to talk to Sora.

"Nothing to say?"

"Nothing that you haven't already." Cloud placed the dishes next to Leon to be washed and opened up the fridge to fetch the pitcher of water.

"Well… good." Leon nodded. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Yeah." _Liar._ In reality, he didn't really mind that Sora and Riku were together. "What you said was true. With Riku. It wouldn't be right."

It was just because Riku knew about him. Cloud was cheating on his sons' father with his son's new boyfriend's father. So not only was he distancing Sora from Riku, but _himself _and Riku. Cloud felt sick to his stomach; these lies were eating him alive.

It was one rotten tomato turning the rest of the crate into the same, fuzzy, green, putrid state…

…Ink diffusing in water…

…Yawning in a crowd…

…Wet sock in the hamper…

…farting in an elevator!

Cloud's water flowed way past the rim of his glass and got to know the pearly white tile of the kitchen floor.

"Hey, are you alright in there?"

"Huh? Oh shoot!" Cloud stopped pouring and stepped back from the glass when his Fruit of the Looms got moist. "Well, you know… water…. Clear glass…" _Where are you going with this? _"Saw right through it!"

PATHETIC.

_Yeah, you better laugh awkwardly._ _You're lucky Leon hadn't seen right through _you_ these past couple of weeks._ Leon tilted his head in confusion but went back to scrubbing the oil off the cooking ware, while Cloud went back to his aneurysm. This was ridiculous and enough was enough.

The human soul was not fabricated to endure the weight of such an exorbitant amount of lies! He had to put a stop to this. Soon.

Twenty minutes later, he found himself staring into a panda-shaped ashtray, having inhaled about five already. He had buried his tobacco-scented hands into his tight jean pockets, contemplating how to even begin to come out with the truth.

He knew he had to tell everyone, even his sons. But would it be better to tell them one by one? At different times? Who first? How should he approach? Slowly, bit by bit, allowing them to take it in in sips? Or all at once with one big gulp and proceed according to their reactions? How would they react? Angry, doomsday, violent? Sad, mournful, tears? Disappointed, detached, cold? Accusing, finger-pointing, handing out blame? Or worst of all; denial, plastic…scary.

There were just too many things that could happen. It was like a tree chart with an innumerable amount of variables, that when combined, elicited an exponential number of outcomes. It was impossible to see or predict at this point, and he would just had to dive right in and see what would be made of it.

"Ugh." He hated swimming.

"You're having the cigarette _before_ the sex. That's new."

Cloud lifted his head from his palms. "Sephiroth."

"Family fun time is over?"

_Wow, he wasted no time._ "Yeah. What a blast," he replied lifelessly.

"Good." The silveret stepped forward, threaded his fingers through Cloud's hair and massaged the man's scalp. "Now let's go have some real fun."

It took a large amount of willpower for Cloud not to snort at the cheesy initiating line. Though playing coy, using innuendos and talking dirty were not uncommon forms of behaviour exchanged between them. (And the fingertips above his neck felt _so good._) So Cloud played along, closed his eyes, rolled his neck into the man's fingers and sighed.

"Seph, it's late." He didn't say it to dissuade his partner, but to put it forth and make it known, so that some form of reason was acknowledged by both of them.

"It's Sunday."

"Your son is home. Did I mention that he knows about his?"

"My son respects me. And he also knows exactly when to turn on Slipknot."

Cloud sighed/laughed –at what exactly, he didn't know. Mechanically, he threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray, scratched his head a few times and got up to face the silveret. "Let's go." Sephiroth smirked and put an arm around the blond's shoulders, leading him out of the dusty garage. Cloud inputted the code on the keypad and the garage door closed, leaving the two in the cool night.

They were about halfway between the lawn that divided their houses, when a commotion was heard. They stopped and looked up at Sora's open window, Riku sitting on the edge of it. The boy had one leg in, one leg out to keep his balance, his arms tucked in a light jacket for warmth. The two men outside could see a sad, discouraged expression on his face.

The two young boys seemed to be in the middle of a disagreement; Sora distressed and Riku attempting to comfort him. Cloud stared awestruck at the words of his own son.

"Why should I calm down? Do you _like_ hiding things from people? Do you _feel good_ after lying to your family about who you've been seeing after the sun goes down? Because I don't. But I have to now because of what we did!"

The two men stayed undetected for nearly ten minutes, before Sephiroth pulled them out of their nosy state. "Come on, Strife."

Cloud let himself be led into the man's house, feeling nothing, thinking of nothing; letting himself go and following the silveret's lead, deeper into their affair.

* * *

**_I'M DONE EXAMS = I'M DONE HIGH SCHOOL. CHYEAHHH ~! _**  
**_NOW I CAN CONCENTRATE ON WRITING, WATCHING, SLEEPING AND FAPP-uh, MORE YAOI! _**

**_DO YOU STILL LOVE THIS STORY? _**

**_ATTENTION: THIS FOLLOWING PART CONSISTS OF CHAPTERS I'VE WRITTEN BACK WHEN THIS STORY STARTED (Thursday February 18, 2010 if you remember chapter one). These are the chapters that started it all and that were the basis of writing a full-length story. Ahhh the nostalgia ~ And since these ARE old chapters, they've already been written.  
_**

**_So REVIEW! 8D_**

_**I could post the next one... **_**t o d a y_ if you'd like -shrugg- ^^  
_**

**_YHS_**  
**_xDelfin_**


	38. XXXVIII' It's Complicated: Three

_**38.**_

"Come on, Sora. Don't cry."

The brunet indeed had tears in his eyes, though it was mostly out of frustration than sadness. "What else can I do? I hate that we have to see each other in secret. But of course, now every time dad sees us together he'll always remember what we are and what we did and it's such a precaution and I hate being precautious because I thought he'd be cool about this because why _wouldn't_ he be cool about this?" his tone changed from exasperated to animated to accusatory as he paced around his room. "He's always cool with whatever craziness Roxas wants to be a part of. Why is he so accepting of the kinds of scrapes he gets into? Doesn't he trust me? Doesn't he think I'm capable of taking care of myself just as easily as Roxas?" Sora wore a sour expression as he spewed the not-so rhetorical questions into the room. "But why would he? I'm only the older one."

"By 13 minutes…"

"So now you're on _his_ side!"

"Sora, I'm always on your side, but you've got to calm down!" He urged the brunet seriously.

"Why should I calm down? Do you _like_ hiding things from people? Do you _feel good_ after lying to your family about who you've been seeing after the sun goes down? Because I don't. But I have to now because of what we did!" He flopped down on his bed, looking at an upside-down Riku. "I couldn't even argue with him when he mentioned Friday night," he said, sounding miserable. "I just sat there listening to Leon basically call me a cheap whore, because I'd already spent the night with you and I'd already had sex with you and everything he knew that happened, happened."

Up until now, Leon didn't strike the boys as old fashioned, but Sora just guessed that some things just didn't change over a couple years from when they were teenagers as well. What looked bad to Leon then, probably still looked bad nowadays, regardless of when it would appear that way to Sora. "And it was all …true," he finished slowly. "I didn't plan for it to happen. I wasn't supposed to do that with you the other night."

Riku was taken aback. "Woah, are you telling me… you _regret_ what happened?"

"Yes." Sora said it so simply and automatically, that Riku flinched while straightening up, the stupid rapidly growing inside of him. He looked at his 'boyfriend,' eyebrows furrowed and mouth ajar.

"…_Okay_."

"I'm not…" Sora tried to select the best words possible as he rolled over, to come to sit in an upright position. "…sorry it happened with you; I'm just sorry it happened at all."

_That_ didn't make it worse. "What the difference?" Riku asked with his arms outstretched. His aquamarine eyes were set in a glare, each word coming from Sora becoming more and more offensive and insulting to his man-seized ego. It might have been too much, but it was exactly how hurt Riku felt. "So it could have been with any other person, and sleeping with them would have been all fine and dandy, as long as the timing was right?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"It's what you said!"

"Not it's not!"

"Well Sora that made no sense at all!" he complained, a little out of breath. "I thought that night made you happy, but hey, maybe you were just too caught up in the moment to allow more than one brain cell to function at the same time."

"Yeah well…" Sora squinted, trying to find the words. "It was your idea anyway!"

"Excuse me?"

"That whole day, you were trying to get into my pants; looking for moments to get me alone; blowing up at your brothers for getting in the way. You couldn't _WAIT_ to lead me up the stairs and into your bed, could you?" He got up as if to strengthen is accusations. "From the moment I stepped into your house, I felt like a monkey at the zoo being watched for every little thing I did."

"It's not my fault you lookedlike_… THAT_!"

"Looked like what?" He asked with mock-seriousness. "I- walked-in-and-took-off-my-shoes," he said condescendingly, with over emphasized beats in his voice. "How perverted could your brain have been to turn it into a goddamn striptease?" Riku rolled his eyes and shook his head at the absurdity when a knock on the door was heard. "WHAT?" Sora yelled, still in snap-mode.

"It's Roxas. Can you open the door?"

Sora moved away from his bed and towards the door, but just as he reached for the doorknob, he looked back to Riku at the window. "I'm sorry, is this turning you on?"

"JUST OPEN THE _FUCKING_ DOOR."

Sora smirked with victory and did just that. Roxas stood amazed and closed the door behind him; quietly, though it was kind of redundant. "Jesus, you're lucky dad's still cleaning downstairs."

"I can't believe he said all that shit about me like I'm some mindless idiot who-."

"YES, Sora! I know," he cut in. "You got clobbered at dinner. I was there too," he reminded him. "But announcing that Riku's here, at this time of the night, isn't going to things better. So," he paused to look at both of them. "I suggest you guys continue this tomorrow. At school. Where you're both expected to see each other at some point during the day."

Both teens had their arms crossed. "C'mon guys. Save the love for tomorrow. Just chillax for now. Sleep on it. I know you guys'll come up with something more clever to throw back at each other theeennn ~ Great!" he exclaimed quickly. "I'm glad we all agree. Say 'goodnight' Riku!"

"Good night," he said lowly. "And don't snore too loudly. I've had enough of that from point blank range, thank you." Roxas snorted into his hand, knowing full well what the silveret was speaking of.

"Yeah, well…" Sora began, miffed. "You suck in bed!"

"Oh, I beg to differ," Riku said very smugly. "So would all three of my brothers _and_ Kairi; all of whom coincidently stopped by the house to witness your 'Grand Finale'." Sora turned white and lunged to the window, but Riku narrowly escaped to the adjacent tree branch.

"I'm gonna wring his neck!" he roared from behind Roxas' guarding arms.

Hours later, the brunet lay in bed, staring fretfully at his ceiling. From beyond the wall, he could clearly hear Roxas talking on the phone over some band he didn't recognize. It was different than his usual style; some drunk guy spazzing out lyrics about 'Evening Wear.' He sighed and reached over to his bedside table, knowing he wouldn't get any sleep unless…

The tone cut off, signalling someone had picked up on the other end of the line, though no words were heard. Sora sighed again. "Riku?"

"Yes, Sora?"

The brunet pouted to himself, feeling dumb. "Are you still mad at me?"

Even though it had put such an immeasurable strain on his heart, Riku replied, "I'm not mad at you, Sor'." That relieved Sora, though it was hard to smile at the tired voice Riku had said it in. "Are you still mad at _me_?"

"No." But a long pause followed at the unsure tone Sora used. "I'm sorry," he said honestly. "That night really did make me happy. You have no idea. I'm sorry I said all those things; they weren't true." Through his rage, all he needed to do was justify that he wasn't in the wrong, when in reality it was completely his choice as he was responsible. So placing the blame and stating that it was the other boy who had 'started it' was more than out of line and completely unfair.

Next door, Riku grinned at Sora's apology, his head buried under his pillow. He suddenly wished it was his boyfriend as he held it lengthwise and wrapped his arms around the sides. "Good to know."

They talked more, both seeming relieved that they didn't have to go to bed with unresolved issues between them. Both were equally thankful for that.

Mind at ease, Sora lay more comfortably in his bed, though his thoughts unexpectedly reviewed yesterday morning, laying in Riku's bed and relaxing much better with the silveret there to comfort him. Out of the silence they'd fallen into, he groaned. "Where are you when I need to kiss you?"

Riku laughed. "Turn around."

"That's creepy." Sora said looking at Riku's silhouette just beyond the glass.

They hung up when Sora reached the window to open it. "Not creepy, just always two steps ahead of you." Apparently, Riku had him on mute, while he climbed up the tree, and _apparently_ felt the same need Sora had.

"And that's creepy." They both smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Kissing after a fight was great. Sora let the comfort completely run throughout his body, Riku leading him away from stress of his life and back into the emotions they shared as a couple that could almost be called 'secret' from anyone. This moment was something they shared, and it was entirely gratifying. Sora couldn't not think that he was truly lucky. The boy suddenly pulled back. "Hey, weren't you in bed?" He immediately remembered that it was about 1:30 in the AM.

"Yeah," came the easy reply.

"You got out of bed to give me a goodnight kiss?"

"Well, maybe one day, I'll just need to turn around." Riku didn't even think before he said that. He just smiled at the effect it had on Sora, who matched his cheery and slightly embarrassed smile. "But until then…" he pecked him quickly on the lips, once more. "Goodnight."

Sora reached for Riku's hand before they completely parted. "'Night. _Lover_."

* * *

Roxas padded into his room and went straight for the iHome. He couldn't help it! Axel had gotten him hooked, and so grabbing his phone from where it was charging, he sprawled across his bed, with MSI's 'Bitches' in the background.

"Hey Rox?"

"Hey Ax. Sorry were you sleeping?"

"No, no. Well, yeah." Axel chuckled. "I'm supposed to be finishing some homework, but I guess I must have dozed off. Thanks for waking me. I'm serious."

"Hehe, sure." Roxas rolled his eyes. "I'll let you finish your work."

"I'm almost done, and you called me for something. I can talk for a bit. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing really, just…"

"Just missed me?"

"Psh-sure, Ax."

Their conversation was cut short in favour of Roxas being pro-school. When the hell did that happen? He found himself staring up at the popcorn ceiling, not feeling a bit sleepy, and feeling a large amount bored. He clutched onto his cell phone and dialled another number he'd memorized by heart.

* * *

"Mmm, baby you're so good at that," the boy groaned enjoyably, feeling himself sink into his mattress. Another ripple of that sweet relief and he rolled his neck, letting go of any restraint left in his pleasured body. "Ngh, yeah right there. Bit harder? _Ohhh god._"

Seifer squinted. "Why aren't you this talkative when I'm fucking you?"

"Different kind of pain and pleasure." Hayner didn't even bother with making full sentences or trying to explain, he was enjoying this massage so much.

An old lady's grocery bag had spilled open on the sidewalk and to avoid rolling over a can or crashing into her, Hayner's instinct was to swerve on to the road, but the pavement hadn't been levelled so he tipped off the side and landed right on the edge of the curb. The bruising between his shoulder blades had gone down over the past couple of hours, but it still gave Hayner grief when trying to sleep on his side or on his back.

_"Who knew Seifer's hands could be so gentle?_" Hayner thought behind lidded eyes. The hands on him were just so big and warm but tender and perfect. He pictured this turning into sexy foreplay, turning off his stomach and letting the taller blond touch him more like this, but it was just so good, never having been touched like this ever, that Hayner couldn't find the strength to stop this kind of ecstasy.

_Damn if I thought that you would change  
And my life would stay the same  
When you don't even care about me  
You know, you don't give a damn  
_  
Hayner groaned. _Nooo._

"Who is that?" Boomkat.

_The wreckoning  
The wreckoning  
The wreckoning  
Ya don't give a damn_

"Dammit, Roxas." Hayner made the massive effort to reach for his phone, ringing and vibrating against the carpet. Sixty percent of the pain, he noticed, had gone away. He'd thank Seifer later. The phone clicked open. "Whaaat?"

"Geez! What's up with you?"

"Nothing." But the look Seifer was giving him was a bit disconcerting. "What's up?"

"Not much. Just wanted to check in. We haven't really talked in a bit."

Without breaking looking away, Seifer crawled closer to his boyfriend, more or less ignoring him, and made to grab for his bare hips. Hayner yelped at the sudden action, causing Roxas on the other end of the phone to huff.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Hayner hastily said, casting Seifer a reproachful look. Seifer just shrugged and shifted slightly. Hayner turned his attention back to Roxas. "A-Anyway, I know. We haven't been talking. We should maybe, you know, hang out or - "

Once again, Hayner was interrupted by a sudden pressure on his bruise and he made a small squeak of pain, wincing. He made a move to look back but Seifer was already working his magic with his hands and the brunet could already feel his eyelids fluttering shut. "Will you .. stop that?" his voice came out (awkwardly) more relaxed than he expected. "I'm on the phone!"

"Since when do I listen to chickenwusses, Chickenwuss?" Seifer sent him a cocky smirk. Hayner rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, Roxas..."

"...If you're too busy, we can talk some other time."

"No, that's not it. I'm just-" Seifer licked the soft curve of one shoulder blade, while tracing the other with his fingers. Hayner couldn't stop the very breathy shudder. He was mildly aware that he had just breathed into the phone, so he closed his lips. Sadly, it didn't help the moan creeping up his throat when he felt Seifer's form close in around him. The only contact remained on his back, but it was the very heat coming off his boyfriend that made him lose his train of thought. "Seifer," he whispered.

Seifer did the same, against the shell of his ear. "Hang up," was all the blond said before he leaned in to kiss, lips matching the softness of his hands, slowly continuing to massage the damage. Hayner dropped the phone onto his bed, in favour of participating. He stroked the side of Seifer's strong jaw, wrapped an arm around his neck, and pushed his bare body onto his.

It didn't take long for things them to get back to their regular energy, but when they did, due to Hayner's "injury," it looked like he'd be on top this time.

Seifer raised an eyebrow at Hayner's playful grin. "_Riding_; not topping."

"Whatever."

* * *

**1 New Message**

**Fr: Roxas**

_You have school tomorrow._

**11:48PM 03/07/10**

_**End of Sunday**_

* * *

_**Humo****ur, drama, fluff. Do I still suck at writing fluff or have I gotten a little better? Eh. Here's the next chapter as so eloquently requested by Kaoru-chibimaster ;J**_

_**YHS**_  
_**xDelfin**_


	39. XXXIX' The Longest Day: Mostly Marly

_**39.**_

_**Monday**_

"_If that boy disappears, that would mess up our plans."_

"_I trust you know what you need to do."_

"_Haven't a clue, really. Maybe you could spell it out for me."_

"_Eliminate the traitor."_

**-BANG BANG BANG-**

Gunshots?  
**  
-BANG BANG BANG-**

Dumpster dancing?

**-BANG BANG BANG-**

"MARLUXIA!"

"Nng..?" Marluxia's pink head of hair wormed its way out of a maroon-coloured, faux-fur blanket, its fibres tickling the eighteen-year old's face.

-BANG BANG BANG-

"MARLUXIA, OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" More banging and the teen blinked rapidly to force some awareness into his brain cells. Yawning, widely like a lion, he climbed out of bed, and hobbled up the stairs to unlock the second door at the top that led to the ground level of the main house.

"'Morning, Dahlia." He yawned and wiped his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah morning." The woman pushed past him, nearly pushing him down the stairs as she did so, and invited herself into his living room/bedroom. "Listen, I'm leaving for Collingwood in like… an hour," she explained, hurriedly, looking up and around the knick knacks on the teen's footstool of a nightstand. "I'm going with the girls and I need the car." He yawned again, uninterested, and chose a spot on the lower steps to sit, bring his knees up and rest his elbows on.

With one hand keeping her powder-blue bathrobe shut, Dahlia overturned half-eaten chip bags, empty candy wrappers and soda cans that littered the top of (as well as the area around) the short wooden table in the centre of the room.

Marluxia squinted. "Wait, what?"

"I need the car. I'm driving everyone there and I still have to pick up my clothes so –what are you wearing?" She stopped her scrambling to eye the pinket's choice of night-wear.

A skin-tight, tan, leopard-print pair of briefs. Silk.

Marluxia lazily narrowed his eyes. "What am _I _wearing?" He returned her mock-'disappointed' look with a glance at the lime-green rollers in her light, caramel hair; the purple puffed slippers on her feet; and the white, satin slip, low cut with lace at the breast. Because it was all perfectly visible to his unwanting eyes at that point.

Dahlia re-covered herself and complained, "I just told you my clothes were at the cleaners! Which reminds me, I need to borrow jeans, and possibly, a sweater." she started for the boiler room-turned-closet, but then immediately whipped around, motioning to the mess around her. "Where are the damn keys?"

The half-conscious twelve-grader groaned and fished the car keys out of his jacket pocket, which was thankfully, within reach from his spot on the steps. Noting the action with non-verbal approval, the woman continued towards the closet. Marluxia sighed and played around with the metal in his fingers.

"Do you have anything not skin tight?" she called from the closet. "These pants don't go past my thighs."

"No."

"Anything not studded or glittery?"

"Try the bin behind the left rack."

After a few incoherent sounds of indecision, she emerged in a simple black pair of jeans (which only had studs of the same shade, around the pockets) and a large navy-blue McMaster sweatshirt. Larxene's. Marluxia said nothing, but boredly dangled the ring of keys out for her. She took it cheerfully and pulled a twenty out from somewhere he was glad to be half-asleep for.

"Here's for bus tickets. I don't have the other two-fifty so just ask Keith later or something."

"Thanks.." he mumbled.

She gave him three kissed: one on either cheek and blew a third one before scurrying hurriedly up the stairs. "My phone's on its last two bars so don't bother trying to call until at least tomorrow. Be home Thursday, Ciao!" was all he heard before the door slammed shut and the footsteps on the next set of steps above his faded.

The pinket sighed yet again. "Have fun, mommy…" He rose from his seat and picked up the woman's discarded clothing, throwing them somewhat neatly into a chair for when he'd venture into the alien habitat that was the main house.

But then, and for the next hour and forty-five minutes before he actually had to start getting ready for school, he landed face first into his Zebra-print bedding. The print was magenta.

* * *

Saix slammed the door inward, making his entrance a loud and obnoxious as the room would echo. "Out," he spat sharply towards a small sophomore at the sinks. The boy took one look at the blunet's acidic yellow eyes and high-tailed it out of there, grabbing his knapsack with still-soapy hands, very careful not to bump into the senior on his way out.

The click of the lavatory door rang throughout the room when Saix locked it. Throwing his bookbag and sweater onto the ground, he stomped towards the sink, cupped his hands and soaked his entire face.

He wished he didn't have a heart. He wished he didn't have emotions. He wished he could be a completely different entity, apart from the person he'd become now.

A fuck was a fuck was a fuck; both he and Xemnas knew that. So why did it make his chest hollow and turn sour whenever he saw Xemnas and Xigbar together after last Friday? He growled with an animalistic expression at the mirror above him. This was fucking pathetic! Balling up his fist, he smacked the face in the reflective glass.

The shock ran up his forearm, but he didn't care. He could take pain. _Just not this kind of pain._

Saix D'Veyener could take a bar fight; a gang fight; a mosh pit with vigour; he could take a rumble; a brawl; and a really out of hand dance-off. Bruises and welts were child's play. Scrapes and scratches were itches. The intersecting slices on his face were papercuts. Breaking bones were like cracking his knuckles! He could take all of that shit!

But what he couldn't take nor comprehend was this feeling of possessiveness over another person.

"Goddammit…" he muttered to himself.

He pulled back the sleeve of his uniform to note the time. 8:05 _Time to get to class._ He dried his face off and straightened out his clothing. Without a second glance in the mirror, he picked up his stuff, unlocked the door and faced the rest of his life.

* * *

"I love when Leon takes a day off work!"

"I know right?" Roxas said mechanically with a hint of sardonicism. He was browsing through his cell phone, careful to shield it from any teachers, as his brother exchanged his homework for his day-2 books at his locker. "I actually ate breakfast and you finally had time to brush your teeth."

Sora slapped him across the arm. "Funny," he said fishing out his mammoth-sized chemistry text book. "Even when we get a ride to school, we're still a little later than usual."

"Well, you insisted on changing your underwear."

"Oh geez!" Sora rolled his eyes, noting when Roxas finally put his phone away. It was so difficult to talk to someone when they were tinkering with their PEDs. _No wonder they were illegal in school… _"Hey, did dad say why he didn't go to work?"

Roxas pondered, then said shrugging, "Dunno. Something to do with Cloud?" He stopped leaning against his own adjacent locker to scrutinized the floor in thought. "Come to think of it, have you noticed anything different about him lately?"

"Different?" Sora tilted his head. "Like what?"

The blond crossed his arms. "Not sure. But last last Saturday, when we all hung out, the guys had left by then, and you were already asleep, but when I went back in with Leon, Cloud was there… being all—." Roxas pulled a face similar to that of a cat whose tail had just been stepped on. "And lately they haven't exactly been acting like the married couple from the 50s we knew."

Sora shut his locker and twirled his lock. "Do you really think something's up?"

"Maybe," he said reasonably. He didn't want to overthink things, nor did he want to find out there was actually something wrong. "Or Leon could just be missing Cloud. He _has_ been working more nowadays too."

The two set off in the direction of their first period classes. "Well, then… it's good that they're spending the day together, yes?"

"I guess so." Roxas put it to rest. "Hey, so tell me more about Friday. The way you were fronting with Leon, sounded to me like you were covering up something big." The younger smirked at the crass pun. "And something you felt guilty for enjoying."

Blue, glinting eyes met blue, hesitant eyes. "Well," Sora blushed. "what do you want to know?"

Roxas listed off an array of hollow details, firing off like rounds of an automatic, and by the end of it, his older brother's colour had intensified a few brighter shades of red. He was about to attempt an answer to 'how long Riku lasted the second time,' when Sora collided with another person. Out of instinct, he apologized immediately to the dirty- blond bumping past, but his act of good nature was not returned.

He didn't know if he was joking, or just really arrogant. "Seriously, you couldn't see me there?" Or both.

Another boy called out from behind him. "Not everybody's staring at you, Tidus!" The blond quirked a smug variation of a smile at the twins, his own blue eyes boring into them, as if sizing them up. Or rather, down, since he un-surreptitiously winked at Roxas and walked away.

Still frowning, the younger Strife asked, "Who the fuck was that?" somewhat irked that his brother was in a let-it-go,-I'm-feeling-gracious-today mood.

"'Tidus,' apparently." Sora smiled. A couple more classrooms later, and they nearly reached the end of their grade's hallway. And by some happy miracle, a person whose last name began with a 'C', thus placing him in that very area of the hallway, was at said locker, and had miraculously just turned around to lock eyes with Sora. The two walked over, out of traffic's way.

Riku and Sora both smiled, far too widely, and held their staring contest. (And Roxas knew whyyy ~), though he said nothing, to pull them out of this highly amusing –whatever you could call it-.

Some minute later, Sora finally spoke, scratching his face out of slight embarrassment. "Stop smiling like that; people are gonna know we did it."

"Please. The way _you're_ smiling, people are gonna know we did it three times." At that moment, Kairi and Xion walked by, giggling madly at the boys. "They don't count." Sora had to look away, the colour on his cheeks returning with full force. This was as bad as PDA and he didn't do PDA.

Roxas simply died against the wall, his uncontrollable snickering failing to be smothered by the sleeve of his uniform jacket. "Imma leave you here…" He tried to say more but couldn't without laughing in their faces. Riku could walk him to class.

* * *

Sure enough, Riku did the honours, escorting the brunet to chemistry. His own class, fourth-year kinesiology, was down that hall where inside, a group of his senior friends were hanging out, still being early for class. He took his regular seat beside Axel, and like all teenagers in the similar situation, started discussing _'it'_.

"We were so in … sync! You know how some people just do it and they're just so in sync?"

Riku grinned like an idiot, trying to explain to Axel, who just watched him bemusedly. _So Riku finally did the deed._The doof couldn't stop smiling –at least until Xigbar and Demyx (respectively) burst into song.

"EVERY LITTLE THING I DO

NEVER SEEMED ENOUGH FOR YOU!"

Axel snorted at their caressing each others' faces and overly dramatic 'despair' poses, their number disturbing some loser classmates who had no lives, so decided to start studying their homework before the bell rang, and turned back to Riku. "So, how'd it happen?" he asked, casually. "Did you guys like… talk about it first or just _get down_?"

"DIGITAL DIGITAL DIGITAL GET DOWN. JUST WHAT WE NEED

(JUST WHAT WE _NEEED_!)"

"Was it like…?" Axel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Riku smirked. He then vaguely described the overall 'aura' and 'experience' of it all, not divulging too many sordid details, but still managing to get through what had happened after with Sora's family with an ultraviolet smile, knowing that things with his life were just so good as of now.

"…so it wasn't _that_ way, but-."

"I WANT IT THAT WAY

TELL ME WHY-EE-!"

Saix, being one of the ones studying (Axel held his tongue on that), threw an eraser at Xigbar, who ducked, letting Demyx take it in the hair. "Will you idiots get to class?"

Xigbar led Demyx in a two-man conga line, taking their singing to the halls and whatever poor, unsuspecting class they shared first.

"I WANNA SEE YOU OUT THAT DOOR_  
_  
BABY, BA-BA-BYE ~"

Demyx smiled and waved innocently at Saix.

* * *

Kairi eyed Sora his entire way into class and into the seat across the aisle from her. He knew she was looking, though attempted to ignore all leers, knowing gazes and eyebrow wiggling.

Females are _very_ powerful.

"WHAT?"

Kairi shrugged, her chin not leaving its resting position on her palm. "Nothing."

"… Were you really in the house when I—."

The redhead smirked evilly. "Friday. March fifth. 4:17AM." Sora hung his head.

"Oh lord…"

* * *

Marluxia blinked awake, a nervous sensation in his bones. He looked up towards the Playboy bunny clock on the opposite wall.

-blink blink-

…

…

…

"SHIT!"

Marluxia whipped off his undies, and dove into a laundry basket for a clean one. Finding camo boxer-briefs, he rushed to the washroom floor for his uniform. Quickly washing his face, he peeked at the Donald Duck watch on the counter.

"SHITE!"

He grabbed the washcloth behind him and dashed out of the room and up the stairs. His father already had a foot in the door. "Keith!" The brown-haired man looked at his son disinterestedly.

"What is it, Marluxia?" he sighed.

"Uh…"

"You need money."

"Mom said to get the rest of my bus fare from you."

Keith stiffened a fraction at the mention of his 'mother' and Marluxia caught it. The man sighed, checked his watch and turned around to put his briefcase down. The teen just watched his father taking out his wallet.

* * *

It was halfway through third period when Marluxia all but fell into his seat at their lunch table.

Demyx took one look at him. "Holy shit! You look like shit!"

"Thanks."

Across from him, Axel asked, "Where were you this morning?" Marluxia shared first period with the redhead.

"A majority of it was spent trying to look past an obese lady with a bowl hat to see if my stop was next. Broke my fucking neck doing. Man, I hate the buses."

"Heh," Demyx laughed. "Where's your car?"

"On vacation," he shrugged. Once he pulled his messenger bag off him, he glanced around. To his left was Demyx, as usual, but to his immediate right was Xigbar. Puzzled, called over everyone's heads "Saix!" he and the blue-haired teen looked up. "Where's Larx?"

A mild, half-annoyed look donned his featured and he responded, "'da fuck would I know what that nymph does with her life?" before stabbing at his bowl of macaroni.

Amused smirks came from Roxas and Zexion, and half a grin from Axel. Now that he took a good look at their table, he noticed it was a little askew (aside from the fact that Roxas and Axel were making googley eyes at each other. It wasn't exactly Demyx looking at Zexion after an early-release day at school, but it was still pretty Maplestory F9. Marluxia laughed every time. _Early release indeed._ Also, since Roxas was next to Axel, Saix had slid to the end of the table where Xemnas usually sat. The built nineteen-year-old was now across from Saix, shielding his goldfish crackers from Xigbar's wandering fingers. How that pirate managed depth-perception was a mystery to all.

When Xigbar seemed to give up, Marluxia asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Lux is over at the poker table, playing for Ruffles," he explained. "And the Doritos he owed me from last week." Xigbar snaked his arm past Xemnas' to grab a fish, but the portlier limb clamped down on his wrist.

"Some niner blew up a pie in the food and nutrition room. Xaldin went to help clean up; Lex went with him." Marluxia nodded and grinned at Xigbar flexing and unflexing his long fingers, in a weak attempt to pull free. Xemnas sighed, shoving a small handful towards his mouth; Xigbar woofed, eating from the palm of the elder's hand. And to really sell it, he tapped the table happily, as a dog would its tail.

Beside Marluxia, Demyx laughed at the sight. "Aww, puppy!" Saix threw a heated scowl at Demyx for the comment, but no one noticed.

Switching his glance towards his left, Marluxia was a third surprised to not see Xion and Vexen animatedly discussing... something. (Once, Zexion had been included in as an omniscient consultant/reference. He'd only remembered such a boring fact since it served as a distraction in the form of Demyx's incessant poking. And for the redundant and obvious reason, the crazy-haired boy was simply bored.) So while Xion was conversing with the Zemyx about a topic Demyx would eagerly participate in and that Zexion could occasionally nod along to (anime), Vexen had a textbook open_!_

To explain his mental exclamation, Vexen never did any work during lunch. That portion of the day was meticulously designated for relaxation and/or nourishment. The 'and/or' being Vexen's attempt at 'mixing it up once in a while' and 'keeping it loose-y goose-y.' Dork.

If the work was 'fast tracking,' it would certainly not be done during this time of day, but at home, and if the need for the textbook was for present-day due dates... well that was just unheard of.

The blond's eyes looked a eighth of a fraction droopier, as well. "Hey," he said with a jut of his neck. Vexen merely looked up, pen still poised. Oops, Marly forgot to wait for him to be done a paragraph (Also Known to Vexen As: a predetermined pause in one's thoughts).

"Sup?" The utterance of that word from Vexen's and Marluxia upped his surprise to two-thirds, and was beside himself on where to start. _What was wrong with the world today?_

Demyx grinned. "He fell asleep in chem." And if that wasn't enough to blow him away like sakura petals, the dirty-blond added, grinning even wider. "And he missed an in-class assignment."

If he had been piloting an airplane, he'd have probably crashed it into the side of a mountain. He was that shocked, a more feasible, visual example wasn't available. "Seriously?"

Vexen grunted, narrowing his eyes quickly in Demyx's direction and immediately went back to number 11 in his notebook. But tenth of a second later, the pink-haired boy was talking again.

"You _never _sleep in class!"

"That's what I said!" Demyx agreed, excitedly.

"Dude, you're annoyingly against wasting valuable learning time."

Vexen, not un-noticing the thinly-veiled emphasis on 'annoyingly' would have rolled his eyes, but then the word 'pneu-mono-ultra-micro-scopic-silico-volcano-konio-sis ' would have looked like a telephone cord on his paper.

The two boys tittered amongst themselves for an unknown amount of Vexen's concentration time, though when Marluxia interrupted yet again, he could _hear_the smile occupying his lips.

"What'd Finkle say?"

Vexen sighed and looked up voluntarily, but not after dotting a period at the end of number fifteen. "He was quite lenient about it," he said simply and started a new page for the next ten questions. He hated writing on the backs of lined paper. "I mean, it's not like I'm always dozing off in the middle of . . . I dunno, religion. Right Demyx?" A smile of his own crept onto his face when mullet-hawked teen bit his lip.

Now, even though Zexion appeared lost in 'Amazing Grace,' the pewter-haired boy had freakishly heightened senses; hearing included. "I think we've narrowed down the problem to your 63."

Demyx didn't say another word about Vexen, who Marluxia shared a look with. The former's, triumphant and the latter's, impressed.

_Ha, busted._

_Well played._

* * *

**YAY! :D**

**Who else loves Saix? x-o **  
**I'm like falling in love with my own characterization of his teenage self. **

**PART OF BUCKET LIST FOR SUMMER: At least 10 chapters finished, polished and posted ;]**  
**Come on, you can't deny that you love me ! 8D **

**And also, if you're confused about anything, feel free to ask! I don't bite unless paid in advance ^^...?**  
**THANKS FOR READING!**

**YHS**  
**xDelfin **


	40. XXXX' The Longest Day: Three Sides

_**40.**_

After a very dramatic parting with Zexion, complete with Shakespearean quotes, dropping down on one knee and hand gestures of despair, Demyx was walking down the hall towards his Public Speaking class, when he spotted his blue-haired friend walking just a few feet in front of him. Demyx sped up and swerved around people to catch up, but it was only a few steps later that he felt something odd in the atmosphere. Saix's back was a straight as a billboard. The pretentious eighteen-year-old was very proper in carrying himself and in having etiquette, but there was a rigid edge to the way his shoulders fell, almost as if he were forcing himself to keep his stature at par. And while Demyx couldn't confirm from his position, the rest of the hallway in front of them seemed to take one brief glance at the bluenet and instantaneously begin to part like the Red Sea. Something was definitely up.

"..Puppy?"

The addressed teen did not respond nor did he show any signs of acknowledgment.

"Puppy?"

Some eleventh-years passing by gave him an astonished look, as if he were asking to be made a cripple.

"Saix!"

The teen whipped around to go berserk on whoever had shouted at him. They were disturbing _him_? His ferocious expression softened when he saw Demyx's concerned, puppy-dog eyes looking back at him. Because really, who could glare at _Demyx_?

"What is it?" he said, passing off his foul mood as tiredness.

"What's bothering you so?" Obviously, it had failed fantastically.

"How do you know something's bothering me?" he said lowly, not wanting the underclassmen, circling around them, to overhear that there was indeed something wrong with Saix D'Veyener. There was a reason it was 'unheard of'!

It was a stupid question, to which Demyx's subsequent expression, served to confirm exactly that. "Wanna talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"No…," he drawled with hint of stubbornness. "There's nothing to say that_ you_ think can be qualified as intelligible." He reached out to place his hand on the side of Saix's arm. "Not everything you say has to make sense, Saix. You know that." Demyx gave a small, encouraging (but not pushy) smile. And under the why-the-hell-not list, he blinked his bright green eyes cutely.

Saix didn't say anything. Which to them, meant that he didn't say 'no.' His face lit up. "What class do you have now again?"

"Accounting," he said, abashedly.

"Well, it's not like they're gonna miss me in EPS." He whipped out his phone and started texting, looking around for any teachers first. "Let's go wander." Saix followed.

* * *

There was an awkward buzz against his left buttock. He frowned and took out his phone.

**Fr: Demyx**

_puppy's in the doghouse.  
skipping eps and maybe fifth.  
but ill meet u under our tree, k luv?  
_

_**12:07 on Monday March 8, 2010**_

The pewter-haired teen subtly pursed his lips at the thought of Demyx skipping a class, but he supposed it was for an acceptable reason. He was about to send a reply, but:

"Zexion Corazza!" His head whipped back towards the front of the class, where his teacher's shrill voice was directed at him. "I'm about to start the lesson. Put that away. You should know better."

He'd reply later.

* * *

As fourth period was ten minutes from being over, Marluxia's teacher received a call in class, asking for him to go to the main office.

"_Marluxia Ikeda? Vaya al oficina. Puedes tomar las cosas con tu."_

"_..Muy bien."_

When Vexen was in the middle of switching textbooks, Marluxia appeared further down the hall. There was only one senior hallway and the lockers were arranged alphabetically by last name. So while Vexen Prince's was at the end of one side, Marluxia Ikeda's locker was near the middle of the opposite side.

Vexen turned around to see the pinket furiously shoving papers inside, not an unusual occurrence, since he couldn't be bothered to put them in their respective binders, but the cause for concern was when he shoved his book bag inside along with it. Marluxia's locker was the epitome of disorganized, close-quarters hole, so having to shove his bag in there was why Vexen walked over. That, and because Marluxia irritably scratched through his prized pink hair and yelling, 'GAAAHHHHH!' and kicking the door shut.

He casually appeared beside the distressed senior. "Something wrong?"

"My stupid life is wrong!" he grumbled, forcing his lock shut and Vexen's eyebrows knit together in sympathy.

"Bad day?"

"You could say that…" Marluxia sighed, tiredly. "My mom went on another impromptu vacation, took my car, hence why I had to bus," he explained. "Now I get to bus back home, pick up some legal document then mission downtown to deliver it to my father or else he's fired and I get to rent my flat from some Armenian family with a parrot!"

"And you hate birds."

"They squawk, they molt and their smelly shit drips. Dammnit, I was supposed to drive Larx home after her practice," he groaned in the most self-loathing way, fingering through the perforated, paper squares in his Keroppi wallet. "Frick, I just bought tickets today. Hopefully I'll make it back here by four so I can at least bus with her back home. FUCK!"

Vexen put both his hands on the teen's shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. _Just like ice._ "Okay, calm down." Marly took in a quick deep breath. "…Or actually, run. Bus passes by here in three minutes."

A whirl of pink, accompanied by an inaudible curse word, then Marluxia was gone. Vexen started for his next class when something crunched beneath his shoe. Crouching down, he picked up a rose earring. It was a deep red shade and in full bloom. Only one person with the possibility of owning it came to mind. The blond uncaringly pocketed the jewellery and sauntered off to bio.

* * *

Neither knew which one of them had initiated it. As far as they saw, they both started moving before their eyes had closed. But at that next moment, Demyx started to feel a little queasy.

Because kissing someone who wasn't Zexion was something he hadn't done for years.

Saix and Demyx were sitting on a flat rock, somewhere in a small clearing that appeared in between trees. In the vast jungle of residential communities that embraced the Northeast shoulder of their school, parks, fields and small patches of woods, all connected by cleanly paved paths, were not ten minutes away. The woods the two teens were in, was secluded and off the beaten track, since kids were afraid to go there. It was always dark where tall trees were grown, so people stayed away. But naturally, when you're a big group of twelve, bored out of your mind, and would rather drink a gallon of turpentine and piss on a forest fire than go to another school assembly on what exactly you need to graduate, this place didn't seem so scary. And so for four years now, these woods could be claimed as their turf. These woods was also where two young boys were crossing some sort of line…

Saix was kissing Demyx.

Demyx was kissing Saix.

They were about halfway between school and their current position, when Saix let loose what had been infuriating him as of late. It was brief. Curt, even. As if the true magnitude of its effects didn't bother him. But it didn't fool someone like Demyx, who went straight to showering the bluenet of encouraging words like 'it's okay,' 'It'll be fine,' and pointers like 'you should tell him,' 'spice things up so that he won't _need_ anyone else!' There also came the guilt things like 'is it because I accidentally called Xigbar 'puppy' today?'

Both boys were aware that what Demyx was saying had already crossed Saix's mind, and that it was doing it and living with it that was the issue. Demyx felt useless for it, so moving past the purely ration attempts at comfort, the blond grabbed Saix's hand, grabbing more of his attention, and sprouted self-confidence boosters.

'You're great, Saix! It's okay to feel like this. It just means you want to be exclusive. There's nothing wrong with you. You're amazing for it. It means you really like him! There's nothing wrong with it at all. Don't beat yourself up for it. You can fix this. You can change it. Just talk to him about it.'

What is a kiss? It's just a touch that shows care for another person. So the hand holding Saix's was no different from the lips kissing Saix's, right? Demyx could have passed it off as a genuinely innocent and friendly gesture, only it dragged on… They didn't part. Their lips remained locked far too long to be considered innocent, especially since there was movement, lively activity until then. They made out.

Saix was _making out_ with Demyx.

Demyx was _making out _with Saix.

Saix's hand left the other's to wrap around his waist.

Demyx's hand let go to wrap around the other's shoulder.

Their chests brushed, their noses bumped, there was a _sliver_ of tongue against Saix's lip…

It was over.

Demyx took a while to gather himself before putting on a cheesy smile, in the hope that Saix would see the gesture as he originally intended it to be. Physical comfort. Nothing more.

He thanked Hades when Saix didn't seem to misunderstand, he might have gone in for more or said something to encourage it, but let go of his waist, leaned back as to put enough distance from them, but not purposely _trying_ to, and said with an earnest tone, "Thanks, Dem."

* * *

"Hey, check it out." Xigbar whipped out his original copy of Call of Duty. "Axel said he'd lend me his three and four so, whatdayasay? Marathon?" Xemnas grinned and was about to accept when his ravenous boyfriend appeared behind him, spun him around and feverishly started kissing the taller man's lips.

Both Xemnas and Xigbar raised their eyebrows. "I suppose along with the PMS, little Saix goes into heat too."

The teen detached his lips to fix Xigbar with a stare and Xemnas used it to catch his breath, only to laugh. "Full moon already?" Saix smiled sexily at the man for a split second before addressing Xigbar once again.

"Xemnas won't be playing any _games_ at your house; he'll be busy getting reacquainted with the terms of our relationship." He then immediately grabbed the large, tan hand and set off in the direction of his house, mentally devising a list of where they were going to have sex. In order. After they've talked, of course.

Xemnas turned around, amused, looking back at his friend left on the curb of the school. Xigbar grinned back, widely and gave him a thumbs-up in approval.

* * *

Not far away, Zexion noted this all with pseudo-indifference. He stood there, leaning against the tree shading him from the garish sun, and let the afternoon breeze float through his bangs and loose edges of his uniform as he waited.

"Hey there, gorgeous."

Zexion hadn't needed to turn around a full ninety degree, since Demyx was already kissing him, in the possessive, I-missed-you fashion he'd recognized.

"Hey," he greeted back, leaning down to retrieve his bag and grabbing Demyx's hand as they started for Demyx's house out of a Monday, day-two routine. "Yours or mine?"

"Yours is fine."

"Okay." Zexion fished out his mp3 player, skillfully clipping it to the rim of his jacket and untangling the earphones with one hand. "Everything okay?"

Demyx swallowed but pushed his smile. "Yup! Saix was all mopey cuz Xigbar and Xemnas have been seeing each other more lately, so we talked, I kissed it all better, he cracked a smile and there they are!"

"Oh?"

"Y-Yeah." Demyx's voice cracked. "Sometimes puppy just needs a little love. But he said he'd talk to Xemnas about keeping things exclusive so he's talking him back to his place to mark him as his own." he rushed, trying to put the emphasis on Saix and Xemnas and less on what _he_ did to help that go along. "I hope he didn't mean peeing on him.." He looked up to find Zexion eyeing him blankly.

Did that mean he saw through it? Or he didn't? Was that good? Bad? _What does this mean?_ He whined to himself, then sighed. "Are you mad?" Had he made a mistake? Zexion wordlessly shook his head, pursing his lips ever so slightly, still looking directly at him. It was the silence, and lack of reaction that worried Demyx. "You know I love you, right?" When in doubt, reaffirm the thing that stays true, constant and unchanged despite what you've done.

Zexion smiled and nodded. He shorter man stopped walking to rise up onto his tip-toes and place a gentle kiss to his boyfriend's cheek. He whispered, "And that's all that matters, isn't it?" He looked away and began walking; right hand still linked with Demyx's, the other pushing the ear bud into his ear then passing the other to the blond.

He didn't know if he'd crossed a line in Zexion's eyes, as the man wasn't saying a word, so at least he'd told him. "Right." He justified and stared at Zexion for a while before Simple Plan's I Won't Be There flooded into his left ear. He hoped greatly that the choice of song didn't mean anything at this point.

Zexion kept his eyes forward the whole walk to Demyx's house.

_I don't wanna make this_  
_Harder than I have to_  
_This is how it has to be_  
_There's so many things I want to say_  
_But you just don't listen to me_

_I don't want to hurt you_  
_You don't want to hurt me_  
_I can't stand you_  
_And you can't stand me_  
_We can't rearrange_  
_You can never change me_  
_Say goodbye_  
_Nothing I say could change your mind because_

_I can't stay_  
_Tomorrow I'll be on my way_  
_So don't expect to find me sleeping in my bed_  
_'Cuz when you wake up_  
_I won't be there_  
_I won't be there_

* * *

_**Announcement: Next chapter is the chapter I wrote February 18**__**th**__** of 2010 – the first day this story took place. I wrote it alongside the first chapter, and for that, you can find obvious similarities. Excited? :D**_

_**Thanks for reading, guys. You're the best :]**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin**_


	41. XXXXI' The Longest Day: Cloud

_**41.**_

Since Monday had been a day two, a day at school and not at the hotel for Sora, nearing 3:30 that afternoon, he, Roxas and Riku (coming over for a while) arrived home. As they walked into the living room, the twins found their parents sitting, almost like they were waiting for something. Assumingly, Leon had taken a day off work to spend time with Cloud who was on-call, should any rushed deliveries come in. Though what the teens weren't around to see was that Cloud had been keeping his distance all day. He would not make eye-contact with Leon, only staying with him in the same room for as few seconds as possible and mumbling responses he'd bother to utter at all.

But just looking at the way they were sitting , Cloud's blatant discomfort, Riku felt his stomach grow cold. Something told him he knew what was going to happen.

Cloud looked only slightly relieved when they appeared and stood up instantly to address them. "Boys, if you could sit down, I-," he cleared his throat. "I have something to say."

Riku eyed him warily and turned to whisper to Sora. "I'll see you later?"

"Riku, why don't you stay?" the man suggested. "I feel like you're a son to me too and," he paused, "this affects all of you." The silveret looked at him gravely, reluctantly standing by the wall beside Sora on the floor.

"Cloud? What's going on?" Leon asked from his seat on the couch.

"Leon, I haven't been honest with you. In fact, I haven't been honest with any of you." Cloud stood, not looking at anyone, and addressed the entire room instead. "Well," he paused nervously, "all I can do is come out with it, Leon," he finally looked at his husband, "And there's really no easy way to say this." He swallowed. It did nothing. "I want a divorce."

The twins looked at their dad with matching expressions of shock. Riku looked at the floor, feeling somewhat out of place as this was clearly a family matter. Leon regarded the blond calmly; that one, sudden sentence was just nonsense.

When no one spoke, the man continued. "These past few weeks have been hectic. Everyone knows this. Things have… changed. For these past few weeks," _Oh God, this was it._ "I've been seeing another man." Two identical sets of blue eyes widened, their mouths hanging agape while Riku continued to bow his head to look at the floor, feeling the overwhelming need to become one with the wall behind him.

Leon's steady voice broke the silence. "What do you mean 'seeing another man'?"

Cloud didn't hesitate. If he did, he would never get it out completely, and it was already sticking out there, the idea already hanging in the air. "I mean, every time I've made an excuse to leave this house after work, every time I've come home late, every time I haven't been with the family, I've… been having sex with another man."

Roxas felt as if he had just been blasted by the iciest mouthwash, and every nerve of his body upturned with sensitivity. So, this was what he'd been feeling that was off. This was what had been wrong. _Aww, shit._

An unknown amount of time passed by, and its silence chilled Cloud to the fibres of his soul, until finally, Roxas found his voice. "What did you mean by this affecting all of us?" He had to ask. He turned to look up at the silveret next to his brother. "Riku?"

"It's my dad," he muttered and tentatively looked up at Leon.

"Wait, you knew about this?" Sora got to his feet to look Riku in the eye. All these things he had no idea about were jumping out at him out of nowhere. He was very frightened to hear the older boy speak. "For how long?"

The thoughts plaguing him for what felt like eternity were finally going to be put to light and it felt like rollerblading down a steep hill or that initial drop on a rollercoaster or that feeling of freefalling the first time you went zip lining. He could only hope that the brakes wouldn't fail, that the seat wouldn't disappear, or that the rope wouldn't snap, like a really bad dream and he would make it through this. "A-A few weeks."

"WHAT?" Sora's face changed instantly, breaking into so many different emotions at once… It broke Riku's heart to see.

"I wanted to-I really did- but I coul- I didn't kn-" Riku's throat tightened and his breath froze in his chest. Now was not the time to break down or cry about something he knew he couldn't have done anything differently about. _But his eyes._ Throughout the dense emotions Sora emitted, the one Riku could see completely clearly and that grew more and more heavy as he stood there was hurt. Reflecting that hurt, Sora's eyes bore into him ever more sharply, piercing through him like storm of blue ice. "I-"

Cloud must have seen that very effect for he tried to dispel it. "Sora, don't blame him. It wasn't his duty to say anything."

The very mention of the word 'duty' and Leon stood up.

"Does anyone want something to drink? How about a beer? Do you want a beer? Roxas? Sora?" No one said anything as he clapped Sora's shoulder. His tone was one that was completely serious, which unnerved everyone more than the fact that he was offering an alcoholic beverage to a bunch of teenagers. Leon's face softened towards Roxas. "You know, you're both so big now. If my grown-up sons want a beer, then they will get a beer." He momentarily ruffled the Roxas' hair before striding into the kitchen. Everyone watched him go, as calm as the dawn, but not long after, did they start to hear objects breaking. Mainly made of glass.

Cloud crossed the threshold of wood to tile in an attempt to calm him down, but at that instant, Leon whipped around to punch him in the cheek.

All the three boys were at their feet ready to act. "Dad! Stop!" Sora and Roxas held onto Leon's two arms, while Riku knelt beside Cloud. He'd ended up on the floor, the back of his hand covering his now flaring cheekbone.

"'_Dad'_?" he challenged. "Am I your dad? According to Cloud, I'm nobody to you two. Apparently sticking around this family that I thought I belonged to for fifteen fucking years, didn't account for anything. Isn't that right Cloud? _Isn't it_?" Miraculously, his voice was still mostly calm, just loud and very pointed towards the blond at his feet.

"Dad, please…" Roxas said in a pleading voice, but Leon just shook the two off his arms and raised his hands in a surrendering notion.

"I'm fine."

The only sound after Leon had left the house for a long time, were that of car tires screeching out of the driveway.

* * *

_**Angst.**_

_**YHS**_  
_**xDelfin **_


	42. XXXXII' The Longest Day: Sora

_"'Dad'?" he challenged. "Am I your dad? According to Cloud, I'm nobody to you two. Apparently sticking around this family that I thought I belonged to for fifteen fucking years, didn't account for anything. Isn't that right Cloud? Isn't it?" Miraculously, his voice was still mostly calm, just loud and very pointed towards the blond at his feet._

_"Dad, please…" Roxas said in a pleading voice, but Leon just shook the two off his arms and raised his hands in a surrendering notion._

_"I'm fine." _

_The only sound after Leon had left the house for a long time, were that of car tires screeching out of the driveway._

_**42.**_

Sora looked at his feet. "How could you do this?"

Cloud stood up, Riku with him. "Sora-."

"No _really_. How could you do this?" The brunet shot a pained look at his father. "Things were starting to get settled; Roxas was feeling better and-and making new friends; I've been doing better at school; we were just starting to get back into the swing of things. You haven't even been around most of the time and now you- because you've been-"

He paused, abandoned sadness and shot out with anger. "_Leon_ has been the one acting more like a father around here, while you've been out doing God knows what! How could you do that to us, Cloud? How could you do that to _Leon_?" He lashed his arms out in gesticulation.

"That man has supported us, provided for us, hell, he's _loved_ us for all these years and you've just thrown it all out the window on a whim. Do you know how much you hurt Leon?" Sora spoke so forcefully, Cloud couldn't say a word. "What about _us_? Me and Roxas? You've just altered both our lives in one fell swoop. You've just made this big change in our lives like it wouldn't affect us. Do you have _any_ idea of what you've just DONE?" Sora shouted and charged forward to his dad, and Cloud almost saw Leon saying the words he should have.

"Sora!" Riku stepped between the two and held the brunet by the shoulders. "Take it easy!"

"And _you_!" He narrowed his eyes into slits, looking Riku up and down, sizing him up. His voice dripped with venom, and for the hell of it all, he whipped around and hit his arm against Riku's to let go of him. "You knew about this and you said nothing. THIS. You knew something about _MY _family_,_" he jabbed three fingers to his own chest. "and you didn't say a mother_fucking_ word?You think I'm even going to consider being involved with you? –Forget it!" With all his strength, he rammed his shoulder into Riku's clearing the way and bolted for the staircase.

Riku, standing there, head bowed in shame, flinched when the sound of Sora's bedroom door smacked through the house, smacking _him_ with the full effects of his dishonesty. Once again, the rest of the occupants of the room were at a loss for words, but Riku didn't look at either of the other two.

He felt sick. His head spun and his throat closed violently, making it hard to swallow his pain. He was rapidly feeling dizzy, like his legs were going to give out from under him. And when Riku found it harder and harder to breath normally, he left the house silently, shielding his wet eyes from the world.

* * *

**_YHS  
xDelfin  
_**


	43. XXXXIII' The Longest Day: Sephiroth

_**43.**_

"Not… impressive, dad."

"Not you too, Roxas."

"What do you mean 'not you too'?" his head shot up to look at his father in the eyes. "Are you telling me what you think was right? That the damage that you've wreaked on our family was all fine and dandy?"

Cloud didn't return his gaze, and replied carefully. "Roxas, what I did, I did for my own reasons."

"Bullshit." _That's _when Cloud looked at his son. "I want a real reason. Why did you do this?" He walked closer to Cloud. "What happened inside that head of yours to make you realize that this family wasn't good enough? What changed? _Why are you breaking our family apart?_"

He wanted to be sincere. He wanted say the truth. But how could he tell his sixteen-year-old that he was weak and had given in to temptation? That he fell as a father the minute things got tough? Cloud looked Roxas over, for a moment remembering perhaps an identical expression on his own face when his own parents got divorced. He'd begged his mother for an explanation, but if it had been anything like the truth he was facing now…

He couldn't. He would never say that to either of his sons. Ever. "Roxas, I am a grown man. I do not have to justify my actions to you. I demand a little more respect, son."

"No. No, you don't get to say that." Roxas backed away from him, slowly shaking his head and raising his hands like he was saying 'I want nothing to do with that'. He reached the foot of the stairs, instead saying curtly, and very tersely, "You don't get to pretend that I have an _ounce_ of respect left for you." The teen turned away from his father and walked calmly up the stairs. "Not after this."

* * *

Neither Sora nor Roxas left their rooms for the rest of the day. Leon didn't come home that night, which was possibly a good thing, but a nonetheless worrisome thing as well.

Several hours later had Cloud sitting on the living room couch with Sephiroth, facing each other on the middle cushion, just talking.

"My son is crying," Sephiroth said. "He hasn't cried since he had an ear infection when he was nine and he couldn't get a decent sleep for a week."

The silver-haired man recalled the image of his youngest sitting at his desk, in his room, attempting to get through some math homework: quietly panting, sniffling and wiping his face every five seconds. The seventeen-year-old had been punching a few incorrect numbers on his calculator, erasing his notebook madly, and throwing everything off his desk with blazing fury when Sephiroth discreetly closed the bedroom door.

Under normal circumstances, he would have scolded Riku for displaying such recklessness and animosity towards things he's possessions, but then again… his son has never had his heart broken. Perhaps he'd overlook this instance.

"It seems he cares quite a bit about your son."

"Sora said a few harsh things in his direction." Cloud said mechanically. It was his fault, everything that had happened was entirely his fault, but for some reason, he couldn't wrap his mind around that just yet. Everything just happened so fast, he just relayed facts; no feelings of his. "He was betrayed that Riku didn't say anything about us." They'd put Riku in such a horrible position. He couldn't imagine how the boy must have felt. Now and ever since he'd found out. "Seph, I'm sorry your son got dragged into this. It was unfair to him."

"Riku will be fine," he reassured, simply. "I raised a strong child." Cloud looked at him, surprisingly felling like he could believe those words." I have no doubts; he'll be all right."

Cloud grinned for the first time that day. "Because God forbid you should ever screw up. Especially with something like the bringing up of your offspring," he scoffed. Sephiroth gently cupped the side of Cloud's face.

"Everything will be fine. Soon."

Sora saw the tall, man sitting on the couch next to his father, and his face immediately turned into scowl. "_What_ are you doing here?" was his announcement of his presence to the two men. His eyes, usually filled with blue cheer and happiness were icy, glistening and pointed like knives. "This isn't your house. Why are you here?"

Cloud was amazed. "Sora-!"

"No! I don't want him here! He has to leave!" Sora shrieked. "This is my house! This is mine, Roxas', yours and _Leon's_ house!" The mention of Leon did something to Cloud's chest. He couldn't think of exactly what at that shining moment, but it pained him deeply for sure. "He can't be here! Get out!" Roxas, alerted by the sudden screaming, appeared at his brother's side, surprised, just as much as everyone else at the complete abandonment of Sora's decorum, though for a while made no real attempt at stopping it. "No, this is still my home! You can't take that too! Get out of here!"

"Sora…" Cloud tried.

"NO!"

"Cloud. It's okay." Sephiroth said lowly, standing and patting the blond's shoulder. He dwarfed everyone with his height, but Sora did not back down at all, nor did he move a centimetre. He stayed exactly where he had meant to be while holding his strong contempt for the man until finally the door had firmly closed.

Sora's anger appeared to have not been nullified a bit, nor the fact that he'd spoken in such a manner to 'The Great Sephiroth'. But right now, he wasn't the large, respectable man or Riku's father, for that matter. He was something else right now. Sora turned to Cloud coldly. "It hasn't even been a _day_, and you're already back to backstabbing my father." Cloud's eyes snapped back to his son in utter shock. "Follow him if you want," he said, pointing to the door. "Follow him-Go to him right now; I don't care. But don't ever bring him back into this house again."

_**End of Monday**_


	44. XXXXIV' Modified: Leon

_**AN: What's poppin' guys? :D**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin**_

* * *

_**44.**_

The world had become a brittle piece of plastic under the heat of a violent sun. With ever step Leon took out of that house, he felt compromised and grounded to the earth, but to one that was unstable. He made it to the car, his eyes glazed and unseeing. I got high last Christmas. And it was as though he were looking at the world with vision such as then. However this time, there was a very subtle underline of rage. He drove out of that neighbourhood in a blind rage, speeding past stop signs and forcefully rolling over a curb every few turns. Leon hit the highway and didn't look back further than the rearview mirror would allow.

_Cloud. Cloud, how could you -_ Leon gripped the dark grey steering wheel, trying not to lose his head completely and swerve into the railing.

He was having an affair. Cloud Strife, his husband, his partner, the one wearing a ring identical to the one on his fourth finger, cheated on him, lied to him, deceived him, _had sex with another man forChrist'ssake! _

Leon's teeth grinded audibly over the whirring of the car's engine. He let himself think the worst, knowing it was probably all true and no matter when it would hit him, it wouldn't change. Cloud had been naked with another man. Had let that man see his body. Had let that man _touch_ **his** Cloud's body. **His.**

_Cloud was his, godfuckingdamnit. There was a motherfucking gold band on his damn hand. That meant something fifteen years ago. It should have damn well meant that Cloud... that Cloud... Fuck. Shit. Son of a b-_ Leon panted hard. Cloud had been having an affair for one month. It wasn't a one night thing. He hadn't claimed to be forced, drunk, drugged or anything. He fucking wanted it.

An image of Cloud screaming and writhing under the man he'd known as his neighbour since the twins had been two and he did swerve off the road. Fortunately, there were no railings in sight, and instead left his tire marks across a wider expanse of grass.

He felt violated. Since Cloud had bore his body to another man, the past touches Leon had initiated during that entire month, (especially throughout that very day), and basically all this time he hadn't known, affected him as well. It was as though the very hands he'd touched Cloud with, burned and prickled with the impression of his betrayal. He hit the wheel hard and threw his head back, screaming hoarsely enough to scratch his oesophagus. _Cloud!_ Twenty years! He couldn't get over that one bit. Twenty years. What happened to it all? It's gone. Destroyed. _I'm such a fool._

The seat belt he failed to put on snapped against the door when he wrenched it open and slammed it shut. He walked to the front of his car and leaned back against the hood that was still hot from the engine he neglected to turn off. He looked down at the defined shadows of the grass under the white and orange headlights but without seeing them at all. _I am _such_ a fool. A month. It'd been going on for a month. _How could he not have seen that? _I must have really slacked off to not notice a change in my own spouse. I should have seen something. _But he'd so busy keeping an eye on Roxas and Sora lately, he thought they'd been on the same page, and whatever weirdness he might have seen and not registered was because of that shift. But still… _How did I not see it?_

The next thing he noticed was the sudden presence of a white car pulling up next to him, the letters spelling 'Police' in bold blue across the hood.

"Yo, slick."  
_

The traffic officer ... was chill. And for some reason, being close to his break, offered to buy the obviously distracted Leon a cup of coffee. After, of course, making sure there was nothing harmful about the situation.

Leon followed slightly older man into a small diner not far from the freeway Leon had stopped at. Leon wasn't the type to rant to strangers about his personal life, but life was throwing curveballs at him the whole day, so frankly, he didn't really give a fuck. To match, the officer did listen openly at the story, two cups of coffee on the counter in front of them.

"I don't understand how this happened." Leon shook his head. "After all this time, _this_ was the last thing I would expect to go wrong. I mean how could he do this?"

The officer shrugged, shaking his head as well. "I dunno."

"I might be able to understand that maybe he got tired of it. Maybe. Possibly. A little. That's something that you can't control. But I didn't even know that there was a problem he was compensating for. Why didn't he tell me? Why keep it a secret? We could have worked it out. Maybe," he growled. "I don't even know."

The man on the stool next to him took a sip before saying, "Sometimes... We keep secrets because secrets keep us alive."

"It wasn't like I was gonna kill him. I hit him, sure, but it was one backhand." Leon crouched over his folded arms on the counter. "That was all."

"I'm talking about a different sort of life and death," he grinned. "And I'm going to pretend I didn't hear about potential domestic violence. That's not my field." He lifted the thick mug to his lips.

Leon sighed harshly and ran his fingers through his hair. "What am I gonna do now?"

He stared at the wall. What was he to do now?

* * *

**Cloud Strife**

Best friend at fourteen.

Scraped his knee and both elbows trying to skateboard down the staircase in front of city hall

Only eighth grader to have a black eye for graduation

Successful in making a pristine high school uniform look rebellious

Dyed his hair a pure green in sophomore year

Peed on door handle of a bitch-secretary's car

Never got caught

First relationship at sixteen

Gave his virginity three and a half months later

Lost the floppy look and started spiking his then fully blond head of hair in grade ten

Kissed a guy friend on a dare

Corrected his teachers

Made fun of jocks

Laughed at enemies of his friends and bitches who were jealous of his girlfriend

Made friends with computer geeks and science nerds

Bought his first used car at 17

First brawl with friends against football team. One of two left standing, back to back, outnumbered against quarterback, halfback and 2 guards, smirking his ass off.

Got drunk for the first time in the basement with all his friends

Pierced his ear with Leon

Endured a hangover for the first time in the basement with all his friends

Scraped by history with a 54

Gave a 'dangerously sexy' scowl on picture day

Aced a unit test in math

Started wearing leather on civies days

Threw up in Leon's mom's rosebushes

Offered to marry impregnated girlfriend

Got turned down by impregnated girlfriend

Broke up with impregnated girlfriend; on good terms

Pushed a wank down a flight of stairs

Tattooed his bicep at eighteen

Purposely duked his own grades to miss honour roll by .1 percent

Became father to Sora and Roxas

Compared answers with Leon during a final exam

Skipped school days with a grand total of 62 days

Tied stole of graduation gown around neck like a bow tie

Took a full time job at an autoshop

Dated Leon

Bought and dubbed his new motorbike Fenrir

Moved out of parents house

Promised his life to Squall Leonhart

* * *

_"Are you sure you want to do this?" Cloud asked, ducking his head away from Sora's grabbing hands. Even with his feathery spikes, the little boy's chubby hands seemed to always grab just enough to yank his head in every sort of direction._

_"Duh," Leon deadpanned, little Roxas, curled up in one of his arms, yawning widely for a moment before going back to his nap._

_"But- ow, Sora.." He took back a chunk of his sidebangs from the one-year old's toothless mouth and switched shoulders for him to drape the boy over. "I have Roxas. And this one!" He jerked his upper body to readjust his hold._

_Leon looked down at Roxas still swimming between sleep and awake. A soft smile. "I know."_

_"So then- AH! Sora!" The little hands found it's way around his earring and succeeded in having Cloud follow the tug as to not have his ear ripped out. He heard Leon chuckle and Sora stopped pulling when Leon scooped him up into his other arm. How his partner could manage to do that despite how big the boys had gotten, Cloud merely stared at. "If you haven't noticed: they're a handful."_

_Sora blew wet raspberries towards him, until the father face fell at the sight, so then the brown-haired little boy turned his head to make similar noises into Leon's stiff neck. Leon didn't seem to mind the fresh drool pooling on his collar. He merely leaned in closer to Cloud and whispered, "I know" before chastely kissing his boyfriend of ten months. The next thing Cloud registered was Sora's entirely happy laughter and Roxas' cheeky giggles._

* * *

Leon came home and Cloud was sitting in their bed, the grey blanket clutched in his hands pressed up against his forehead. His fists were white against his knees. The room was completely quiet, but he was crying. Leon could tell. He looked up eventually and the red contrasts on his face verified it. He saw him. And his mouth curled into another silent sob, behind the crumpled bedding.

He cried differently than last month, when we were downstairs discussing the feud between him and Roxas. Then he'd only scrunched up his eyes, forcing the tears out. Now it seemed, he'd let go of any sort of effort and fell in on himself. Like where his heart had been, the space had imploded, and everything relying on it was destroyed. Cloud hid the lower half of his face in his knees and they both waited.

Family had been the most important thing to Leon. Cloud had made that happen. He'd given him a family; a place where he belonged, a house he worked to maintain, and sons he loved. And with Cloud cutting the picture between them two, what did Leon have left?

Now Leon couldn't hold him and be the one to say the comforting words that would have Cloud gain a little more perspective. He couldn't wrap his arms around him and tell him that no matter what, he'd be right there alongside him, facing what ever came out of that situation. He couldn't be the one to help him like he'd done for the twenty years of knowing each other. Because now Cloud was saying that he wanted someone else to do that. Cloud didn't want Leon to be his partner anymore. Cloud didn't want Leon to be the one holding him for the rest of his life.

It made Leon wonder why between the two of them, it was Cloud who was crying. And as he did so, Cloud was sniffling and wiping his eyes, seemingly done, with the presence of someone else watching him. Leon also wouldn't be the one Cloud would let see him cry.

Cloud softly cleared his throat, but it was Leon who spoke.

"Was it something that I said?"

The sound of his voice, though it was the same as always, made Cloud's body shiver. He shook his head.

"I thought we understood each other. Did you get tired of me?"

"No."

"Why'd you do it?"

"I have no excuse," he said honestly. "I... wanted him."

"You had me."

"I can't explain it."

"You have to!" Leon insisted, harshly. "You owe at least that to me."

Cloud couldn't think of the words under the pressure of Leon's complete presence. All this time of thinking how to break it to him, he'd never thought of what to say after that. Idiot.

"Maybe if you had told me about it early on and left it at that, we could have worked it out, but you don't even look sorry!" the brown-haired man accused. "You've gone as far as to tell me you want a divorce. It's clear you don't want me anymore, so something had to have happened between now and two months ago. Something that hadn't happened before that and after we got married. I demand to know what it is, Cloud." His voice dropped to a soft, yet pronounced murmur. "I'm begging you to tell me what it is."

"I love you." There was no point in thinking about it. "...I just can't be married to you anymore."

Using what little intuition that could have been applied to this moment, that had been similar in the past, he dissected his words and tone, and found it to be guilt behind those words. So he revealed the stretched part of his limits and bore it plainly for Cloud to acknowledge. He would stretch himself that far, break his very belief system, morals and self-alignment. In one moment, in one sentence, he said: "If you wanted to, we could forget this ever happened; If this about already having done it, and seeing this as a one way, no u-turn street, I am prepared to let that go." He said it all quickly, beating the catches in his throat to perform the words. They rushed in his mind, but his mouth spoke only quickly enough. Leon was a capable man. He was used to control and he had never lost to his body. He was undoubtedly a competent man, fully in control of his self.

"Just say the words, and we could go back to the way things were."

They both knew they would try to make it seem that way. But Leon was saying it out of childishness. Speaking a child's hope. _You can't just take this back._ And Cloud had lied enough. This would carry another lie on. "I'm not going to make the same mistake again." A hopeful glint appeared in Leon's eyes. "This is not something we can go back on. It would destroy us, if we filled ourselves with the thought."

Once you smash a mirror, even if you put the pieces back perfectly, the image will never be the same and the pieces will forever distort once another. They will never again act as a whole.

"No, Leon. I need this divorce."

There were so many things they wanted to say aloud, but no longer could. Nothing was stopping them, yet an entire fortress made of their past stood solid between them. 'I love you.' 'I'm sorry.' 'Please forgive me.' 'You're hurting me.' These had come up in the past and serve as the concrete building blocks of the abstract structure before them, each copy -each repetition- varying in height, weight and position based on past circumstances. They've become instrumental in keeping the fortress standing and shaping it to the way it stood proudly and firmly. But repeating any one of them now, under _these_ circumstances, detached as they were and more harmful than ever before, would make the whole thing crumble, crushing each block to the base of it all. All were that threatening and that detrimental to their very hearts.

Alternatively, saying nothing, separating, changing, would make it disappear. The tree would fall and no one would be there to hear it. The cat would be assumed dead, and eventually be true. The explosion would be unheard and die out before anyone bothered to look up beyond the sky.

Implied closure. Unspoken, unheard of, but understood.

All that lay in their hearts: pride, guilt, love, anger, pride. They were saved, for now.

Next few days passed by in silence. They never actually had needed to talk. Speech to them, had become another kind of affection. They knew each other too well to have to talk at all. They knew each others' schedules, routines, whatever they would do at particular part of the day. There was no love in their actions anymore. Though Cloud poured Leon his coffee, though Leon handed Cloud the business section of the newspaper, though they sidestepped each other when either one of them had an armful of things and needed to get through, it was all done out of instinct by now. The air suddenly became so empty, they could never have realized how much of a difference a couple of words had made. They also never realized how painful it would be to carry on as though nothing had happened, with the only casualty being their complete absence of communications. They had had no idea.

_**End of Monday**_


	45. XXXXV' Modified: Riku, Zexion & Roxas

_**45.**_

_**Tuesday**_

Everything was in boxes: his books, his stereo, that videogame he hadn't played since he was ten. Everything he owned were sorted and packed away into volumes of cardboard, like an encyclopedia of everything that was him. That very meaningful gathering everyone had had only happened yesterday and already the children had been told to start preparing to move. In his own personal opinion, it was the most insipid and selfish thing anyone could have done to another person. But of course, the little people had no say in this matter and Riku just did as he had been taught to do for seventeen years: listen to his father. Sephiroth, Cloud, Roxas, Sora and he were to move out by the end of the week. Fast, indeed.

He had no idea what the two were thinking.

The three elder brothers had already being called and informed of the situation. The house would be rented out for months at a time, while their respective rooms would remain untouched and locked, should they choose to come back and live their after school, on break, etc,.

It hadn't really set in yet that someone else would be sleeping in his room.

He left the house early, being done with packing most of his things, save a few daily used items. On his way out he saw Sora sitting in the front seat of Leon's car, the man locking the front door of his house. Barely a second later, Riku dashed across the lawn and approached Leon just before the man could make it to the steps. From here, the words he would speak would not be witnessed by Sora, and by so, adding to his shortly-gained adrenaline a little more confidence. Leon turned to face him.

"I know I'm probably the last person you want to speak to, and I know that that phrase has been used a million times by people who need something to say first before getting to the apology, but I feel like I really should apologize." Leon just stared, stoic expression unchanged.

"I also know that you haven't exactly approved of me, since Sora and I started seeing each other… romantically, but that's beside my point. I'm sorry for what the actions of my father have done to you and your family. I'm sorry I knew it happened and didn't do anything about it. It didn't exactly show a strong moral quality in my character. I apologize, sir. For my behaviours, I am ashamed."

The morning chill passed through the gap of their houses, creating small whirlwinds in each crevice of the porch and it's adjacent steps. The rush of his adrenaline must have blown away in the process, because now, at the end of his speech, the entire feeling of having nothing else to say, lingered in the air like a mist. And for the length that it did linger, Riku's sudden bravery was slowly melting visibly through his body language. He shifted his weight from one blue Converse to the other.

The man made his way down the steps, fingering the car key in his ring of keys. "Stay out of trouble. For both of you."

Leon walked past Riku, around the house and towards the driveway, to see a half-face shaped smudge in the inside of his passenger seat window.

Zexion Corazza has had six sexual partners in his 17-year life.

It all started in seventh grade . . . where he'd had a crush on a Spanish boy in his class. His name was Xavier Dela Cruz. He was a scrawny boy with light, brown hair who liked to play soccer and had an aptitude for mathematics. He sat beside Zexion for most of their grade seven year,. It was how the short, thirteen-year-old Zexion could admire the boy, if not for his charmingly good looks or intelligence, his all-around friendliness. Xavier was the one who talked to him the most for that chapter of his childhood, and so one could conclude that they were best friends.

When Zexion finally became aware of 'homosexuality,' he observed his friendship for a while and eventually ran the idea by his best friend. All from an innocent and technical point of view, of course. They tried it. They experimented everyday after school for weeks, kissing, touching and gradually making their way towards what Xavier said it should look like according to his elder brother's magazines. (Zexion taking the role of the girl.)

They lost their virginities to each other when they were fourteen, in Zexion's basement, one Thursday afternoon. It was then that they 'concluded' that they were homosexual and decided that they were indeed attracted to each other. -At least as much as fourteen-year-olds know they can be.

Their friendship grew even more intensely. Zexion noticed he was happier since their encounters started, despite his initial awkwardness and uncertainty. He'd never had this type of closeness with anyone.

Zexion was the middle child of three. When both parents passed away and they went into foster care he was only six. After that, he kept to himself and learned self-reliance, so that Fuujin, only two years younger than him, could rely on him as well. Zexion was ten years old when Ansem, a wealthy overseas correspondent, adopted them. Paine had just turned eighteen when he too was killed in an accident one year later. Paine obtained government support, worked her ass off, and moved herself and her siblings to the neighbourhood they live in presently. Zexion began the sixth grade at Enix Public School, the school where he'd meet Xavier some months later.

Looking back, the whole ride was exciting. Xavier made him _excited_ about future events -everything they could do together. He began picturing starting high school having a 'boyfriend.' An _actual_ boyfriend.

Naturally, by then, he'd done his research, aware of how homosexuality wasn't exactly accepted by everyone, along with some current gay-right movements, etc,. Zexion wasn't worried. It wasn't like he was loud-mouthed, apt to flaunt his new relationship in other peoples faces or anything. There was nothing to worry about.

There really became nothing to worry about when Xavier had told him that they wouldn't be attending the same high school. (The one designated for their district.) Xavier would be sent to a semi-private, all-boys school. Funnily enough, the boy had come out to his mother _after _she'd already enrolled her second child.

And that had ended the way many young relationships do: with distance, a promise to keep in touch and gradual silence.

Then along came Axel in ninth grade! This, as all Zexion's endeavours had, started with friendship. Zexion wasn't someone to sleep with anyone he didn't trust. Not a value he'd been taught, but found out himself to be a part of a survival instinct. (And of course, survival was a constant priority. He and his siblings where finally near 'stable.' He couldn't let anything seriously get to him. Not when other people depended on him.)

One day, he and Axel were partnered for a geography project, situating them at Axel's house where Axel could play his xbox while Zexion did their work. Finally, Axel decided he was bored and a little... horny. That resulted in Axel prying into Zexion's private matters and by the end of the evening... his private parts. Zexion had at that moment decided he wouldn't really lose anything by trying it again with someone else. It was a 'why not' sort of situation.

Axel had definitely been more experienced, and so had Zexion play the submissive role. He found this time much more exciting than he thought. The sort of excitement he hadn't felt in a while. He couldn't help but compared Xavier to Axel. And Axel seemed to have a more 'active' style. Zexion enjoyed himself that day, remembering how Axel taught him how to play xbox after that. He didn't feel awkward about anything that time and he supposed it came with the age, the friendship and the added experience.

He and Axel had sex two more times after that, and only two more times, since Zexion decided that Axel was getting annoying and Axel was starting to get a little bored with just Zexion, and being the educated little ninth-grader he was, Zexion wasn't going to consent with getting it from Axel while four other people were getting it too. To provide an example, seeing Risa and Jeff in the same day and screwing them both with a few hours in between. Precisely. No no no no no.

A month later, Marluxia declared to his friends that he was bisexual. And being somewhat _more_ of a jackass that Axel was by then, 'recommended' Zexion to be his first male ass. Zexion, being pliant, clean, and just so damn adorable, was the perfect choice. Zexion shrugged and went back to his English homework, agreeing to go home with Marluxia after school. For once Zexion felt like he was more in control, despite bottoming for Marly (he had been a virgin to males after all). But in conclusion, he liked it too.

Vexen had been a complete surprise. The blond had been drunk at a party in tenth-grade, and the whole gang was there. All of a sudden, Zexion found himself being pushed into a bathroom by a drunk Vexen, prying his legs open as he sat on the edge of a sink. The odd thing was, in retrospect, the Zexion was completely sober. Maybe still a little baked from four hours prior, but still there, still conscious. The thought that did keep him there and keep being used was that he knew Vexen (the one when he was sober). He wasn't a bad guy or a bad friend, intelligent enough, so to ease his mind even further. It seemed okay to go ahead with.

Keeping true to his good guy status, Vexen remembered their session the day after, apologized profusely, and offered to do it again properly or even... date him. By that time, Zexion hadn't really _really_ dated anyone, and if he gave it some thought, would seem a little weird since they were friends. Zexion declined and they resumed their friendship.

Behold: puberty, right?

But that thought lingered in his mind for a while. Up until then, he'd only have sex with those who were his friends; however, he wouldn't _date_ them if they were. So did that mean he'd never date someone and have sex with them at the same time? He thought about that for a while.

Nearing the end of tenth-grade, Zexion had gone as far as to question his long-believed sexuality. Xion, yet another friend, had offered to help him reach his answer. This experience had certainly been different. Penetrating a female and getting a blowjob were two very different sensations. This encounter was indeed intriguing, but ... the entire time, Zexion was fighting with himself. He felt bad for not being sexually attracted to her, pretty as he thought she was, he had to think of something else to get him erect at first. And even after he entered her... well, it might have just been luck that he took her from behind, and could sort of imagine that the buttocks in front of him belonged to a less-curvy, more muscular being.

Yes, he was definitely gay. And he would like to top once in a while.

Zexion halted the mental illustration of his past. His violet eyes turned towards his bedroom ceiling as he brought himself back into (as of then) Tuesday March 9, 2010. His senior year. Seventeen years old. Well into puberty.

The sound of soft snoring, halted his mind from swirling any longer and he turned his head to the right to see his sixth and current lover. Demyx O'Donohue.

His soft complexion in the five AM white light. His eyelids momentary fluttering. His light blond hair falling around his ears.

Zexion's lips quirked as he hummed in silent thought.

Axel honked twice. And Roxas stuck two ring-clad fingers out his window to signal the approximate minutes longer he'd take.

The only keys on the half-wall, were his own, meaning he was the last one in the house. He patted all his pockets down, feeling that he had everything, armed the door, grabbed his bag and his keys and dashed out the door before the beeping of the alarm stopped.

Roxas jumped in the Volvo, and Axel leaned over to peck him on the lips. The blond smiled and fastened his seat belt, bag at his feet as Axel sped out the neighbourhood. Roxas grinned at his reflection in the window as the blur of houses and lamposts whizzed by. This was better than taking the bus.

It was easier to forget what shit he had to deal with at home when the way in which he was leaving the house was this awesome. He was just going to school and yet it felt cool to drive there with Axel.

The sound of a lighter sparking clicked him out of his inner gloating. Axel then handed the freshly lit cigarette to him and lit his another one for himself. He puffed. Roxas was handling smoking better these days, but he still felt really high if his blood pressure was low to begin with. That and he still couldn't last through smoking a king-size. Axel rolled down their windows, and without looking away from the road, he raised his arm to open the sunroof.

Cigarettes ashed and flint glowing, the air blew through the car. Roxas took another pull. _Oh yeah, much better than taking the bus._

* * *

_**YHS  
xDelfin**_


	46. XXXXVI' Modified: 13 & Sora, 11 & 12 & 4

_**46.**_

It was nearly halfway into fourth period when Roxas' decided to escape from class. His lunch was still forty minutes away, but he was all good and ready to ditch school and hang out with his friends before going home. School was a fucking prison.

He entered the washrooms with a nonchalant kick to the door, freeing himself from view of video cameras in the hallway. Picking a clean-ish spot on the ground, he took out his smuggled ipod and squatted, leaning against the smooth-brick walls.

After the vocals of 2NE1, riffs of Sum41 and Simple Plan and a mix by Oblivion, another boy entered the washroom. They immediately noticed each other; however, with different levels of merriment.

"Chibi-Strife!" Tidus cheered.

"Tidus," he said in derisive acknowledgement.

"I've heard some cool things about you." It was a redirect of teasing, turning it into fake-praise, to which Roxas rolled his eyes behind his side bangs.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I heard you were dealing with that Axel guy. Is that legit?" he asked, urinating on the other side of the room, his back to where Roxas was sitting. Thank God.

"Maybe," Roxas didn't bother giving complete answers. Who was this guy to begin to know him? He wasn't hiding anything, nor was he about to parade any details either. Roxas had only met Tidus yesterday, and it hadn't included the shiniest of impressions. Already, Roxas found him annoying, but to keep some sort of civility and perhaps some energy and peace of mind as well, he stuck to indifferent and disengaged interaction.

Tidus was laughing to himself. It was an ongoing test of Roxas' patience and above-mentioned decision. He didn't say anything, only watched the other with narrowed eyes while Tidus washed his hands.

"Well, then I'm sure you can guess what's gonna happen next." Tidus dried his hands on his already discoloured school shirt and crouched in front of Roxas. "Why don't you just save everyone the anti-climactic denouement."

"What?" Roxas hissed. They were face to face now, and his scowl darkened.

But Tidus only grinned that self-absorbed grin with his teeth bared. He looked Roxas over appreciatively. "You know, you're pretty cute. I could spoil you tonight."

"You're disgusting. I don't need an STD," he spat and looked away.

"Ha!" The other blond cackled and straightened up like a physical acceptance of being denied. "If anyone's disgusting, it's that man-whore of a boyfriend of yours. That guy's been _having _to get tested regularly for that shit since elementary school, in case you didn't know." Roxas actually _didn't_ know. "Everyone knows that. Prolly cuz half of everybody here's been there _and _done that. It's the same story with that guy." Tidus decided to sit right next to Roxas this time. "Take this in:" He leaned in to Roxas and whispered, "has he fucked you in the back of his pick-up yet?"

Tidus was so fucking close to his face, he caught the miniscule reaction to the otherwise surprising question. He laughed with himself again and Roxas was seriously considering punching this guy in the face. It was right there anyway.

"Like I said, save yourself and everyone else the sad ending. You're not the longest Axel's ever kept around, which is what, three weeks? And it seriously doesn't look like the most different he's ever had either. You think you're special to him? Wake up, Chibi-Strife. You're not." He shrugged, staying non-aggressive. "I'm tellin' ya, it's all the same."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Prolly not!" he shrugged again and threw his hands out. "I stayed away." Tidus grinned smugly. "And you..." He captured a lock of Roxas' hair, brushing near his face, with two of his fingers, examining it. Playing with it. "You... should prolly do the same." Roxas could feel Tidus leaning in closer and closer.

He was screaming on the inside! Screaming for himself to do something - something that would feel very, very cathartic. His fist clenched beside him, out of Tidus' view, and with a sharp inhale of breath, Roxas pulled back his arm (as far as the wall behind him would allow), threw his fist and... another hand appeared.

Stopping him.

Stopping him from stopping the impending violation, as it would seem, but it appeared that Tidus had been pulled aside as well.

Seifer stood there, crouched over, one hand tightly gripping Roxas' wrist, his other hand holding Tidus back by the neck of his shirt. And yes, choking sounds ensued, to Roxas' great delight.

"While this would have been highly entertaining... Tidus, Maleficent's trolling the halls for you." He released the boy, swinging his arm outwards to have Tidus land on the floor a few feet away. He groaned and fixed himself up in front of the mirror.

"And Roxas, you're teacher's looking for you too. Get to class, you punk." The blond quietly rose from his spot and followed Tidus out the door. Roxas looked back at Seifer for a tiny moment, blandly, expressing thanks to a long-time bully of his. It still didn't completely erase his chosen regard for the upperclassman, but Seifer probably knew just the same anyway, so Roxas left it at that.

In the hall, Tidus addressed him again. "Come find me later, Chibi-Strife."

Roxas side-stepped him and headed for his classroom.

"Where did you go?" his teacher asked exasperatedly. Roxas walked glibly past the large desk and towards his own seat.

"I know how you feel about me sleeping in class, so I went to fall asleep in the washroom." Roxas reached his desk, ignoring the class tittering about it, and pulled out a novel from his bag since he couldn't take out his ipod anymore lest it get confiscated. He ignored the teacher's reprimands, and kept quiet for the fifteen minutes left of class. He ignored many other things for the rest of that day as well.

* * *

"Sora, are you leaving already?"

Sora turned around to see the general manager of the hotel (aka the boss of his boss). Richard Deja was a tall, burly man, with a chiseled _nearly-_handsome face. Nearly everything about this man was fake. His question to whether or not Sora was leaving work for the day narrowly hid the subtext of reminding Sora that he still had twenty-three more minutes until his 'shift' was over.

It was common knowledge to all the employees that no one respected this man, even more so that he deserved none. This man walked around eyeing everyone and everything like his height made a difference in what was beneath him and then smiled as he would welcome special (high-paying) guests to the hotel. Once, Yuffie had told Sora that she'd gone into his office for a signature only to find him, shoeless, feet up on his desk, watching Russel Peters on Youtube. Yes, come stay in this hotel where we work to make your stay the height of enjoyment.

Arrogance and falsities are to be met with humble civility, so Sora had learned from dealing with too many customers of the like.

"No sir, Janice just called me. She wanted me to find a few files for her. And then I'm coming back to fix up my pod for the night audit guys before I go." Sora waited for clearance, his insides edgy and annoyed, until finally after a hard stare:

"Very good."

He turned back around to head for the elevator but then Deja spoke again.

"Your boyfriend is waiting for you out front."

Sora slowly turned around once again, and they shared yet another staring contest.

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"Okay then..." he said, warily. "Thank you." And he dashed for the elevator as it dinged open to let a few guests out. The last glance of his boss' boss was of him smiling cheerily, bidding the elderly couple goodbye and thanking them for staying at the Sofitel.

* * *

"There's gotta be something either extremely twisted or pathetically sad about having your soon-to-be second husband pay for the divorce of yours and your soon-to-be-ex-husband." Roxas scrunched his eyes up and held his arms out to heighten the ridiculousness of the matter. "What the actual fuck is Cloud thinking?"

Sora balanced the beer bottle between his lips, half-concentrating on taking a swig while his 'pillow' wracked beneath him in silent, over-exaggerated sob. "I don't know," he exhaled with a cool chill of Blue. "'Get out fast?'" he laughed. The two brothers lay under the stairs of their basement, on the floor on a make-shift floor/sitting area they had constructed years ago of wide foam cylinders. Around them were odds and ends that were brought down in attempts to clean the house over the years, as well as two desktop computers, wound up in their various cords and collecting dust.

"Sephiroth's like a big.. spider web," Sora mused as he spotted an actual spider web in his blurring vision. "Delicate, yet strong; elegantly constructed; silvery…with connections everywhere. You think you see some sort of general make up in one light, then you turn on another bulb and see the expansion- other places he's been- and you realize there's more than you thought."

Roxas followed his brother's gaze up towards the cobwebs in scrutiny. "I can't believe we're leaving this place."

"I know. I can't imagine living anywhere else," he agreed. "You know everytime I read or hear about a house, in my mind, it always resembles this one? You know in like positioning of things and the construction and stuff?"

"Yeah, and we know every corner of this place. Even here. We haven't been here in… two years?"

"Two years! Right. When we got in so much shit with Cloud, he took the computers out of our rooms and stuck 'em down here." They curled in on each other as they laughed, quite reminiscently.

"Did that stop us from getting suspended to stay home and play Runescape?"

"Oh, fuck no!" Sora rubbed his eye and sat up off his brother. "Yeah dad, take the computers out of our rooms while we're at school but forget that we get home _hours_ before you?" he shook his head and threw back another gulp.

"Maybe he didn't think we'd make use of all these emergency extension cords lying around."

"Maybe he trusted us enough not to sneak back into the basement to 'meditate,' reassemble two computers and reconnect the wi-fi.

A beat, and then a fit of snickers from two tipsy teenage boys.

Roxas gasped for breath and shrugged his shoulders. "We were thirteen-!"

"I know, I know!" Sora waved his hands in a pacifying motion and then he twirled his index finger in a circle near his temple. "In my head-." And everything dissolved into drunken laughter.

* * *

Marluxia sat on the couch, with his feet up on the table, the remote control in his poised hand as he clicked 'Guide' and scrolled through his options.

Tues/09/Mar/ 7:45-

He was dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt with Pikachu on it. His pink hair was moussed. His breath was freshened. His eyes were thinly lined with Kohl and shadowed in NYC. He was clean shaven and he smelled like a Lush store. Now if only his phone would ring so he could leave his apartment and take his girlfriend out for a date night.

Twenty-five minutes passed. "Fuck it." He picked up his phone and dialled.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, are we still going?"

"_One second-"_

* * *

"Yo, get the fuck out of my room! I'm on the phone!"

"Where the fuck am I supposed to go, bitch?"

"I don't give a fuck, the bathroom!"

"Are you fuckin' serious?"

"I'm serious as fuck. Now get out! I'll get you when I'm done."

"Bitch." Namine scowled at her older sister before she closed her bedroom door quietly behind her.

Once the door was closed, Larxene turned her attention back to her phone. "Yeah, Marly, my father stayed home today. I can't leave."

"_What the fuck?"_

"I know right? I came home and the twerp was hiding in my room." Larxene's room was on the second level along with the washroom, a linen closet and another bedroom. Namine's 'bedroom' was a portion of the living room that had its own entrance into the main living room where currently their father was residing.

Their father had a night job, making him sleep through the day and work at night. And since the latter of that sequence had not been fulfilled, he was home, on the couch, drinking a beer, Namine was upstairs and Larxene couldn't leave.

"_Couldn't you climb out the window? I'll catch you like a base."_ Larxene _was_ a cheerleader.

Larxene laughed. "I could, but the bastard broke the lock on my door last time. The twerp can't hide in the washroom forever."

"_Alright, fine."_

"Sorry."

"LARXENE!" came a yell suddenly from downstairs. "LARXENE, I'M HUNGRY!"

"ALRIGHT! I'M COMING."

* * *

"_I gotta go, babe"_

"Bye." Marluxia pressed 'end' and let his arm fall back to the couch. "I showered for you, bitch." He murmured to himself.

He trudged to the bathroom, took off his make-up, hung up his casual wear behind the door, and applied a nightly facial mask just for the hell of it. And in bright green Diesel boxer briefs, he parked himself in front of his end-table-turned-desk and opened up his biology homework.

Eleven minutes into facts of frog mating he threw down his mechanical pencil in revulsion. "ARGHH! No! Fuck you. I'm not doing it," he gritted. The oh-so meaningful six questions were due in two days anyway. It wasn't long before he canonballed into his bed. "Goodnight, fucking vitellogenin. Ugh."

* * *

"I wonder if Riku will look like Sephiroth when he grows up." Sora pondered into the cloudy night sky. "You know, all big and tall and commanding respect with every air he exhales sort of thing?"

Roxas smirked around the cigarette between his lips. Sora had obligied to accompany Roxas outside for a cigarette, so there they stood on their driveway, staring into almost nothing and thinking of nearly everything.

"I wonder how his mom looked… and how much of her he has in him." The Crescent household interior was homely, yet modern in which pictures and any forms of cluster, save for centrepiece accents were scarce. Pictures were meant to be filed away in albums and not in plain display- a contrast to their own home. Not one image of Riku's mother had he ever seen before.

"Well, if he pushes himself as hard as he does on the soccer field in every damn turn of his life," Roxas exhaled, "it just may amount to something like his old man." Visual paths of athleticism, education and business futures momentarily flashed in his mind. "Face it, brother. Your boy's bound for great things." Riku had everything set out for him in terms of his grades, his health and his father's company. He could choose anything and already have a foot in the proverbial door, unlike himself, still bumming around in his adolescent existence, not giving any real thought to things further than the next few weeks of his life.

Presently, it was comfortable and somewhat stress-free, still, at times he found himself restless, the unnerving fact that his future was a dark hole. And the reality that one day he'd come face to face with it and actually have to decide on _something _was terribly daunting. Roxas envied Riku in those respects.

"How are you guys, by the way?" he took another drag of his Belmont cigarette.

"Ehh, we're just fine." Sora half-grinned. "He walked me home after work today and we talked and…" he sighed. "I realized I couldn't really blame his angel-face."

"That face will get him everything, I swear."

"Noo, no, I just started thinking: how much would it have really made a difference if he had told me, or told dad, I mean, dad would have still been sleeping with Sephiroth, and it would still have broken dad's heart," he pouted a little about Leon, whom he loved very much. Sora just couldn't bear the thought of his respected father being treated so… "Ah, this is really a dead end and I'm tired of thinking about it." He looked to the ground and in the corner of his eye, Roxas was scraping the cigarette butt against the asphalt. Roxas tended to smoke faster after consuming alcohol.

"I feel ya."

* * *

"_You have some nerve to show your treasonous face around here. Some nerve indeed."  
"Treasonous? I would say _you_ are the traitor, Marluxia."_

"_Do either of us have the heart to believe anyone?"_

"_The Organization's betrayed. In that name, I will annihilate you."  
"That line's not you."_

**-BANG BANG BANG-**

Gunshots?  
**  
-BANG BANG BANG-**

Dumpster dancing?

**-BANG BANG BANG-**

"MARLUXIA!"

"Nooo…" Looking up from the soft maroon filaments, Marluxia looked desperately at the door at the top of the stairs.

-BANG BANG BANG-

"MARLUXIA, OPEN THE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING DOOR!"

Blue eyes shut tight and mouth hanging hopelessly, he slogged away from his bed and towards his mother's loving pestering. On his way he glanced that the Minnie Mouse clock reading 11:06. He'd never get back to sleep after making the effort to stand up, let alone walk. So much for turning in early.

Upon unlocking the door, Dahlia pushed open the door with impatience, and he staggered on the second step, holding on to the railing out of pure, skillful, god-loves-me reflex. And in came his mother.

And the music.

And all of Dahlia's middle-aged, trashy girlfriends.

All pushed him aside as if he was a decoration on the already narrow walkway down. _Why, mommy, why?_

"Alright girls, help me push everything off to the sides!" Giggles and laughter filled his formerly peaceful apartment as the walking blobs of make-up and botox acknowledged him, still in his underwear. -His neon green underwear that mapped out every inch of him. He should have known better, but he was half asleep, dammit! It was too late now.

He headed towards his mother, ignoring the group of women shamelessly examining his package as it bounced in his walk. Dahlia was crouched over the coffee table along with another friend, edging it closer to the wall.

"Dahlia…" he half-whined, tiredly. He then noticed that the lady aiding the impromptu feng-shui was dick-height in her bent-over position… and was taking advantage of the extreme close up full-length feature.

_Ugh, seriously._ He stood dangerously close to his mother, trapping her between himself and the wall, not close enough to touch, but close enough to force her to acknowledge him. He was vaguely aware of the group of forty-year-olds then acknowledging his ass.

Finally, Dahlia looked at him. "Keith has his poker-playing, cigar puffing, beer-drinking colleagues over. BO-RING! This party is girls-only," she announced, proudly when suddenly, her eyes twinkled with an idea. "Where's the phone book?" she leered.

"Where am _I_ supposed to go?" he said, avoiding the impending enabling of any more strangers in his immaculate home.

"_You're _welcome to stay," she smiled, as if he was twelve again and doing his mother's and his toenails.

Marluxia grimaced and dared a look behind him. Six pairs of eyes suddenly met his own, some winking, some batting, all women more or less licking their lips at the prospect of him staying and making the need for the phonebook rendered moot.

He looked back at his mom, mournfully. "Please don't break anything. See you in the hangover." Marluxia sidestepped into the washroom and clothed himself in the clothes he'd donned earlier. Upon exit, the disappointment was lucid in the room. He packed his bag, grabbed his uniform, another change of clothes, footwear and undergarments his keys and climbed the stairs.

The teen turned back to gaze upon his destroyed sanctuary, especially upon seeing one of the women light up a cigarette. Marluxia dropped his head and sighed. He didn't have the strength to think of the damage that would ensue forthwith.

He reached the main floor and made a bee-line for the kitchen and to his father, surrounded by even older-looking men, and clouds of cigar smoke. Expectantly, he held his hand out, clearly unamused by the state of things. Keith, along with the rest of the poker table looked at him from above their hands of five.

The son weakly narrowed his eyes at the father. "You owe me." The table rumbled with the kind of laughter that only resonated from old, mirthless men.

"The boy has a point!" a sexagenarian chimed. Or boomed, as it were.

Keith looked at the man and sighed, but with a smile on his face and drew out the wallet in his back pocket. He fished out a twenty to which Marluxia glady accepted. As he turned away, freezing the room with his silence, Keith asked, "Where are you going?"

"I dunno, lie down in the middle of the street? AKA my bedroom."

"Why don't you sleep upstairs?"

Marluxia turned back to the room of men, challengingly. "How many rounds have you gone through?"

"Four."

"Six!"

"Three."

"Five…?"

"Two and a half."

"These parties' are gonna get co-ed pretty soon." Marluxia said, stepping into his shoes and walking out the door, to the roaring laughs and questions of 'that's your son?' and 'how old is he?' and 'are you gambling his trust fund there, Ikeda? HAHAHAHA!'

* * *

Larxene placed the bowl of homemade pasta in front of her father on a fold out table she put in front of the couch for him. She then set back into the kitchen to start the dishes. Just as she started on the knife she'd cut the tomatoes with, there was a crash and small shattering sound of glass in the living room.

"Shanelle!" Larxene turn the corner of the kitchen to see her father stumbling over to Namine, the table with the bowl, knocked over and broken beer bottle shards litering the laminate flooring. The shards surely slicing the undersides of his feet didn't slow the man down as he lunged for his youngest. "Shanelle, where have you been?"

Namine looked up, frightened, at her father, his large hands grasping tightly at her shoulders. "I was so worried! " The man's eyes began to spill with angry tears, and he held Namine's face in one hand and pushed his lips hard onto hers.

With practiced strength, Larxene was quick and effective to pull the large man off her sister. "Enough!" she yelled. "That's enough! Why did you come down?" she snarled at Namine.

"I thought he went outside! I heard the door."

"I took out the trash, idiot. Get upstairs," she said pushing the shorter blond in the direction of the stairs. Suddenly, she was roughly shoved into the wall.

"No! Don't take her from me!" Namine ran up the stairs and not seconds later, the bathroom door slammed shut. "Shanelle!"

"Will you cut it out?" Larxene growled as she stood back up.

"Sweetheart…"

The blonde shouted and karate chopped the wall she'd been thrown against. Beside her, the man who was her father began to cry and sob. _So pathetic. He's a fuckin' grown man. Seriously, what the fuck? Pitiful. _She sneered.

And yet, the same sharp twang ached her chest. "Fuck, man." Larxene wrapped an arm around her father's back. "Papi.. mom's gone, remember?"

"…My Shanelle."

"She's gone," she said, more resolutely, trying desperately not to fall back into the same rhythm this always took when her father drank and saw Namine, the spitting image of their mother. She was sick of this.

But what was it about seeing a parent cry that broke the hearts of their children?

"Come on. Let's sit you on the couch."

A stern man, numb to the world, sitting upright on the white and green couch cushions, Larxene fetched the broom and dustpan.

* * *

Marluxia had to use his skills in practical mathematics, aiming, and measuring strength, lest the rock he held break the window he was throwing it at. Four out of five were misses completely. Well, who said he should participate in gym? Even with his failures, the goal was still met. Blinds were peeked through and seconds later, Vexen appeared behind the opened front door.

Vexen with bedhead was completely giggle-worthy. "Is there a reason to this madness?"

"Mom. Dad. NOISE. Sleep. Headache." Marluxia pouted for good measure, but Vexen's eyes were barely open. The doorway was cleared for his welcome regardless and so hoorah.

Slipping off his shoes and locking the door behind him for his half-conscious friend, he followed him up to his room. "Thanks dude."

"Mmm."

Once inside the room, Marluxia dropped his bag onto the floor and Vexen dropped himself back into the cotton puddle of sheets and blankets.

"Where do I sleep?"

"I don't care," he grunted out from beneath the white pillow.

So stripping off his jeans and sweater and leaving him in his Diesel and white wife-beater, he climbed into bed next to Vexen. "Night, buddy."

Vexen snored.

_**End of Tuesday**_

* * *

_**Ahh, high school days. I swear a good chunk of the population all talked like Tidus.**_

_**Ahem, so what's up guys? Life's just been going for me but ye-hey I can still write 8D**_

_**To my long-time readers: I miss you! Tell me you're still out there -wistful face-  
**__**To my new readers: HI :D You guys are great!**_

_**Thank you to everyone for their continued support, and of course to my beta-partner LalaHachi who's been with me since the start :]**_

YHS  
xDelfin


	47. XXXXVII' Adjustable Crayons: Sora&Roxas

_**47.**_

_**Wednesday**_

"Ngnnn…" Vexen groaned. _No, don't want to wake up._ He turned his sore neck. And something tickled his face. The curiosity must have gotten his brain working because there was no way his inverse functions could be furry. He scratched his cheek and let himself open his eyes. **Pink**.

'_Oh yeahhh',_ Vexen thought. He looked at his window and remembered last night. _He has horrible aim._ Vexen looked around his bed and his friend on half his right side. Now that he thought about it… _Wasn't I on that side of the bed?_ Somehow they had switched at some point leaving him on his back, and Marluxia on his stomach, Vexen's arm and shoulder and twirled around his right leg.

6:45AM

Any minute, he'd push his friend off him and get up.

He choked in surprise (and literally choked) when Marluxia's bicep landed on his neck.

* * *

Lately, Roxas had been keeping a close, okay maybe not 'close', but a more observing eye on Axel, with how he was around him, and how he behaved with other people. Roxas and Sora (because he dragged Sora into it) didn't _stalk_ him in school. No, of course not. They went about their normal routine and followed their established routes around the school. It's just that if they suddenly saw Axel… they'd hide behind something taller than them and watch before proceeding with their natural and habitual goings about.

So there they were, in the twelfth-grade hallway, where some of the mixed eleven/twelve classes were -behind a trash can. The large tub of green plastic was nearly half their height but there was no way they could both fit behind a skinny locker door. It was okay though, no one tripped over them or anything.

"He says things to me the way he used to, but I can't help but read in to every perceived slight. You know like when people say 'let's hook up.' I never got if that meant meeting up, like networking kind of 'he hooked me up with this-!' Or meeting up for sex."

Roxas explained to Sora what had happened with Tidus in the bathroom the other day. But being Sora, he was next to useless when it came to the rumour mill and gossip or fashion trends, like him. And now, when it came to Axel, who had reserved seating in the space of Roxas' mind, it suddenly wasn't so settling to be a non-conformist.

Watching Axel do nothing but exchange some textbooks in his locker, Roxas began to feel stupid in his crouched position on the hallway floor. "Ugh, I've officially turned into an obsessed high school girl."

"Borrow Kairi's kilt and you'd be spot on."

"Wait a minute..!"

It was like he was watching himself walk up to Axel. It was creepy. Ventus Masters. How common is it to actually _meet_ your very own doppelganger? Irrelevant as it were, everything about Ven creeped Roxas out, helping him maintain that disinterested dislike for the boy. But just like when they'd first met in English class, Roxas had this coming. 'Ventus replacing Roxas.' It sounded like a really screwed up nightmare, but the way Axel turned around and couldn't even tell the difference when Ventus smiled at him… Okay, he'd forgive that one. It was an honest mistake. It's not like Axel had drove him to school that day and _seen_ with his own eyes what he'd been wearing today… not that he expected Axel to remember everything he wore.

Roxas rolled his eyes at himself. He turned away from Axel and Ventus and looked around. "Where's Kairi?"

Just then, Sora pulled him down and they both saw the two boys laughing together at something so funny they had to hold each other's shoulders to keep themselves from falling over. Axel then said something to Ventus and it was clear from the blond looking off to the side and suppressing a smile that..

"Is that-?"

"Did he just-?"

Were they being _flirty_? Ventus was clearly blushing.

"That's not a 'perceived slight.'"

"No. Doesn't look like it, does it." Roxas picked himself off the ground, readjusted his bag and started walking. He kept his eyes fixed straight ahead as he walked right passed the two, knowing Axel didn't even notice.

Sora caught up to his brother and whispered beside him. "And he looked-."

"Like he was talking to me?" Roxas finished for him. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

The Strife-Leonhart household was finishing dinner when Cloud asked the twins to basically reschedule anything they had planned for the following day. Cloud and Sephiroth had already purchased their new house where they and their offspring would inhabit come next week, hence all the packing everyone had been doing lately.

"So soon?"

"Yes, Roxas." Cloud said seriously. "I want you and Sora to meet me tomorrow at the new house. There're some things I want to change before we start making trips back and forth." Packing was mostly done, and soon the moving would follow.

The twins groaned simultaneously. They hated learning of things last minute, but unfortunately, shit happens. Shit like fathers cheating on fathers and changing everything in their lives. Silently admitting defeat, they lifted their empty plates and their cutlery and head for the counter to place it next to the sink.

Leon, who hadn't said one word the entire dinnertime, rose quietly and placed his own plate on top of his sons' and walking away like he was the only one in the house.

Everyone saw this, saw him heading for the stairs and up to the bedroom he still shared with Cloud. The twins didn't even want to question how they still slept in the same bed. It could have been either immensely complicated or painfully simple. Either or, they did not speak a word. They were halfway out of the kitchen when Cloud interrupted them.

"Boys? Could you please do the dishes tonight? I have to unload some things in the garage. And I'm tired." Just like that, he walked away, knowing his 'angels' of children would do it because he asked them to. "Thank you!" And into the garage he went.

Sora and Roxas looked at each other.

"You do it," Roxas said, first. "I took out the garbage."

"I made dinner," Sora countered.

"That's why it was so heavy."

"Bitch." Unamused.

"Whore."

"Skank."

"Buttslut," Roxas snickered and snapped his fingers repeatedly. "OH! Game, set, and match, Roxas! Thank you!" And he dashed for the stairs.

"What the hell!" he whined. Turning, Sora pouted at the sink and rolled up his sleeves.

* * *

_**Who loves me for such a quick update? Drop me a review!**_

_**YHS**_

_**xDelfin**_


	48. XXXXVIII' Adjustable Crayons: AkuRoku

_**48.**_

_**Saturday**_

It wasn't that far of a drive, maybe fifteen-twenty minutes by car, taking the highway. It was definitely closer to the school, meaning there was no longer a need to take a school bus in the morning –a seemly pro in his mental list.

However, it didn't make the convenience-aspect of their new location completely out of the woods. The practical approach to travel was to drive along the base and height of the triangle, in this case, the main roads. There was no probable hypotenuse from their house to the school, merely a snake through several parks and communities and outgrowth patches that were only accessible by foot. That would mean a lengthier time of travel.

Not to mention that now Axel's house was past the school from them now.

As the car turned into the driveway and Roxas fully took in the sight of that monster house, he knew: pros and cons irrelevant, everything was different.

After his room was mostly put together, his desk set up, his closet organized and his bed made and all ready to go and be _lived in_, Roxas already felt sick of the environment and called Axel. The redhead was just coming out of basketball practice when he did, so it wasn't long before he found the house. A brief tour of the property and showing of his room, and they left and drove around, parked somewhere secluded, had sex in the back seat of the car twice, then randomly decided to go to some cafe they found.

Even after some really good sex, Roxas couldn't keep himself from leaning over to the driver side of the car and reclaiming Axel's lips, all the while thinking: _I'm kissing him. He's mine right now. No one else is kissing him but me._ It was so stupid and selfish to repeat, but it kept him from the itching bother by thoughts of being replaced by fucking Ventus; and shit Tidus fed him; and having to leave Leon all a long in that fucking old house of theirs that they've been in since infancy; and jealousy over what Riku had with his life. –Just that _one_ thought, kept him grounded and sane for the moment. And he couldn't stop or let go of the face tightly pressed against his, making him feel so good and so alive.

"Gosh, Roxy, we just did it half an hour ago," he chuckled and so did Roxas.

"Well then tell your fingers to stop flirting with my skin, Ax." The seventeen-year-old's neck was covered in half kisses-half flirty smirks, and Axel couldn't easily let go of the breath he'd been holding.

"Mmmfuck..."

* * *

"You know, I think this is where they filmed Domyouji's house in the live action of Hana Yori Dango." Sora opened up another door that led to yet another room. "Yup, this is definitely the place."

"I feel like an orchestra should be playing as I walk through the doors or something." Sora laughed at Riku checking out the walls and original plaster mouldings overhead. "Pretty classy."

It was one o'clock on a Saturday morning and the adults had gone to work overtime and wouldn't be back for at least another hour if not two, before coming back and finishing off some of the unloading in the common areas and their bedroom. So the kids were left to do as they pleased to get themselves acquainted on their own.

Roxas gave up and left with Axel half an hour ago.

So Sora and Riku were home... alone, and would come to realize this very soon.

* * *

They sat inside the cafe, near the back at a small, two-seater table, Axel sipping a coffee and Roxas picking at a piece of red velvet cake with that heavenly cream cheese icing on top. Roxas finished another run-on sentence.

"-So yeah, everything is so fucked right now." He looked up at Axel, leaning against his hand, gently smiling at him. "Okay, sorry. Rant over. Let's talk about you, how are you, babe?" He took another bite of his cake.

Axel chuckled. "Still kinda shaky from this morning," he winked and Roxas blushed lightly. Sex just made everyone in a good mood.

"Saix crashed at my place last night. Xemnas had 'business' somewhere in Scarborough so he came by to chill and we just crashed on my couch. They're doing good."

And even now, Roxas couldn't shake the excited feeling he got whenever they were alone together. It just never went away. He couldn't stop the small grin around his fork, half-listening to what the redhead was saying.

"So I was thinking it's good if we see other people."

Roxas looked up with big blue eyes. "Oh?" he said, casually.

"Yeah. I mean, I like you, a lot," Roxas maintained his smile at that. Axel was so smooth and so easy with the words it was hard not to go along with it. "But you know, I think it'd be better for both of us if we just kept seeing each other, no strings attached." Kept_ seeing other people? _Roxas thought, _'kept' as in..._

"Yeah! Totally. I feel the same way," he said. "I mean, I was wracking my brain for when I'd come talk to _you_ about that too." Roxas laughed and it wasn't at all obvious that was so completely fake.

"Cool," Axel nodded and grinned with relief. "Well then. I really had nothing to worry about, right?"

"Right." Roxas didn't drop his smile one bit, even when Axel leaned over the table and pecked him on the lips.

_What just happened?_

* * *

"Oh, God! Riku!" Sora threw his head back and arched off his bed.

They had to christen it _sometime_.

"Unghh, Sora..." Riku groaned, crouching over him, his back bare and sweaty, his jeans riding somewhere near his shins. _Why do I still always feel like I'm melting? _He gripped Sora's hips tightly and pushed back in all the way. It was never going to change no matter how many times they did it.

"Ahhhh...Riku. Riku?" he struggled for breath. It was so easy and just so sweet to scream your heart out when you knew no one was home. And God, how excellently these bigger rooms did to promote sound. He grunted as he tried to sit up. "But.. _nghhh!_ -shouldn't we be unpacking?"

"I _am_ unpacking."

"Oh my God!" Sora yelled. "Riku! Man, what the hell-."

* * *

_**fist-pump ; hip-thrust ; another update. **_

_**Reviews are my coffee, guys! Thanks everyone :]  
**_

_**I love you, LalaHachi. yongwonhi.**_

_**YHS  
xDelfin**_


	49. XXXXIX' Adjustable Crayons: Axel

_**A/N: It's so short. Sorry guys :|**_

* * *

_**49.**_

Axel didn't actively notice the way Roxas never looked into his eyes again. Not when they left the cafe, not when he drove the boy back home, but he did feel something weird when Roxas just stared striaght ahead of him, muttered a light 'thanks' and exited the car. Maybe still lingering on the unfamiliarity of where he then went 'home' to? That's what Axel told himself before he backed out of the driveway and went on with his life.

He'd set the rest of the day aside to hang out with Roxas but the boy had understandably declined, telling Axel thanks for taking him away from the house when it got to be too much, and for offering to help with anymore unpacking or organization required, but that just being there with himself in that new home was what was needed.

So he called Demyx:

"Yeo, Ax! Waguan?"

"Not much, b. Wa you sayin'?

They talked like this sometimes, making fun of the social circle they were assumed to be in by age, yet not by chosen circle. Really, they were just being idiots like friends usually are to each other.

"Jus on ma way to de 'aspital."

"Oh shiet." Axel tried to remember what day it was, slipping in his 'accent' as he did. "That weekend already?"

"Naaah, b." And with that, he dropped it too. "I'm on call and some guy called in sick. Haha, yeah right? At a hospital! Anyway, they're low on man-power right now so, whatevs. Get me my hours faster, right?" Cuz, fuck, they still had three more months of high school left and had a hard-ass principal who would refuse to let you graduate if you didn't have your mandatory forty hours of community service hours done by June.

Most people just called up family member or friends who would sign their slips for them regardless of whether they did jack shit or not. Kind of what Axel was doing with his father, but he did help Zack out at work when he had time or when there was work that he could _legally_ do as a volunteer.

Demyx had to go and Axel had to put his cell phone down before a cop car drove by him, because God knows it's only a matter of time before shit blows up. And Axel never liked getting caught.

It was almost two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. So he headed home, thinking it a good a time as any to spend time with momma Aerith and Zack.

After all, it wasn't as if he was someone to forget the people who loved him.

* * *

_**No one kill me XD  
Back to school today for me!**_

YHS  
xDelfin


	50. XXXXX' Adjustable Crayons: Kadaj

_**50.**_

Kadaj tapped his fingers against his desk where on top lay a hefty business management textbook, a fat and ugly law textbook and social science workbooks. His roommate had left sometime around noon, so he was alone for the moment. Far, far away in London, Ontario. Western University, where he'd followed both his brothers so figure out some sort of pathway for his future life to follow. But life felt really slow lately.

He glanced at his cell, the sleek body of the iPhone reflecting light and corners of his law textbook back at him.

He could do it; it would be so simple and easy. So why was he hesitating?

He picked it up, to defy himself and the question and scrolled to find Kairi's number.

"_Kadaj?"_

"No, actually I found this number scratched into a bathroom stall. Apparently, you offer free phone sex from five to two in a bunch of exotic accents. Now I know your hours haven't started yet, so name your minutely rate. Oh yes, I'd prefer a southern accent."

"_You asscake."_

"Ooh, already with the dirty talk. I like! But, where's the accent?"

"_Kadaj, what do you want?"_

"Would you know if Xion is busy tomorrow night?"

Kairi was slient on the other end, but when she did reply, a definite smile was on her face. _"I would know if I was with her right now, but I'm not. I could call her and find out or..."_ she teased. _"I could text you her number."_

"Oh, you're brilliant, Kairi! Truly excellent thought process." Kadaj feigned. "Alright then, it was a treat talking to you again; however next time, I'd like it to be with that accent we discussed."

"_Owh, draet,"_ and a girl outta Georgia was produced. _"AI'm jus so daRn yuselehss whenit cuhmes tuh thiehs tehknologieh. Seems AI kien't faind heR numbeR."_

"What do you want?"

"_Eind you would think I would know wun o' ma bey'st freyend's numbeR off ba haRt, but dayum this fickle twehni-feRst sehncheri."_

"Kairi..."

"_Eind on sehcond thought, AI don't thienk Xion wud laike it if I jus-staRded gihvin aut heR numbeR tuh gahz that cawll rayendum nuhmbeRs they faind on bayethroom stalls."_

« Maudite vache. »

Kairi cackled spoke in her normal voice.

"What are you doing, Kadaj?"

"Right now?" He looked briefly around his room. "Currently wishing I gave you harder wedgies when you were seven. You?"

"Ha! Bitch, I meant what are you doing asking for one of my best friend's number?"

He could just picture Kairi's hand taking its normal position at her hip and he rolled his eyes, fairly certain she knew he did too. They knew each other too well. "I'm requesting the digits I require in order to be able to call her on her cellular device so that she may be able to hear my voice as I ask her if she is free tomorrow and also so that she will have the ability to speak back to me so that I may be able to hear a 'yay' or 'nay'. Honestly, you're born after 1992 and the logistics of sleek electronics is truly _MAGIC._"

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

"Kai," he said seriously. "You're being annoying."

"How am I being annoying?"

"You are being annoying by using that stupid female disease that makes you to get into other people's business, ask all them questions and over-think things –like a friend asking for another friend's number. I just want to ask her out, is that so complicated?"

"So you're saying you wanna ask her _out_. As in out on a date! Now we're getting somewhere!"

« Pétasse. »

**_End of Saturday_**

* * *

_**Hello hello !**_  
_**I needed a Kadaj chapter here XD**_

_**I actually did take a class in accents and dialects, and would have written some of the longer phrases in the IPA alphabet but didn't recognize all of the symbols so .. maybe in the time you try to sound things out, you get a feel of the Southern drawl? xD**_

_**Here's a cheat sheet if it did get to be a little too messy: **'Oh drat, I'm just so darn useless when it comes to this technology. Seems I can't find her number. And you would think I would know one of my best friend's number off by heart, but damn this fickle twenty-first century. And on second thought, I don't think Xion would like it if I just started giving you her number to guys that call random numbers they find on bathroom stalls.'** Yeah, I apologize if the way I would have spelled the Southern drawl may have offended anybody.**_

_**Kadaj calls her a 'damned cow' and a 'bitch'... I just love it when he speaks French ^^**_

_**As always, reviews would be appreciated !**_

_**YHS**_  
_**xDelfin**_


	51. XXXXXI' Back to One: Roxas

**_51._**

**_Monday_**

'Where am I?'

_A woman stands in front of me. I recognize her as one of my teachers from school. She's always been nice to me; as such, I don't give her as much of a hard time as I do the others. She's a sweet old woman, but the look she's giving me... _

'What just happened? Where am I?'

_I whip my head around to find an answer, and perhaps an escape from her expectant gaze. Instead, I see a room full of people looking at me the same way. People from my school. I go to school with them._

'What did I do? What did I say? Where the hell am I?'

_I look around frantically, trying to look for something – anything– familiar. And as if out of nowhere, the walls of a classroom become apparent. Like I've been here all along and didn't notice. But the room seems bigger to accommodate the mass of people. Staring at me. I feel myself short of breath. My fingernails dig into the dampness of my palms. I shut my eyes, but the fear is still filtering in through my skin, like smoke permeates through curtains. _

'I don't want to be here.'

_Next, I am aware of a draft as it chills the back of my sweaty neck. My insides feel like they're on fire, yet I can feel the goosebumps on my skin. My body feels ... weird._

'Have I always been this skinny? How long have I been freaking out?'

_I don't want to open my eyes and prove that I'm surrounded. Is the draft whistling or are people whispering? I bring my arms up to cover my ears, but they make contact with something metal on their way up. Instinct-slash-curiosity opens my eyes for me. It's a desk. On it, lies a single sheet of white paper. Blank._

* * *

_Oh God. No. No no no no no._

"Sora? Sora, what's wrong? Are you sick?" Riku woke up to the brunet's heavy breathing and occasional whimpers. Now that he was awake, the boy didn't bother trying to hold back a cry of pain. Although Riku spoke calmly, he was easily distressed at the sight of Sora's right eye and cheek scrunched up.

The throbbing seemed to live on the right side of his head, while the other side just suffered the shockwaves they created. And shockwaves they were, ringing his body with the constant reminder of pain. "Sora. What do you need?"

"Ughhh... Roxas..."

* * *

Herein live the new Strife-Crescent family.

The monstrosity of their new house was three levels, all 5689 square-feet formed in a very geometric square on each. The lower level included a three-car garage; two sub-level bedrooms (each with their own bathrooms); and a game room. On the main floor, a study in the north-west corner; a 'great hall' in the east wing; another bathroom; a living room and dining room on the south end; and a five-star kitchen layout tucked on the east side of the middle.

Two bedrooms and a master suite divided the second floor. Sora and Roxas had taken the two mirroring ones, mostly out of habit, even after both being offered the largest bedroom in the house, by its current occupant, Riku. Roxas chose the room with more living space over the built in desk and stand-up shower Sora's room provided. He would be in Riku's Jacuzzi when he wanted a bath over a shower. (And when he wanted other things as well, of course.)

The third floor had originally been a hobby room, complete with slanted ceilings, three windows on each wall, and a decent bathroom in the north-western corner. The two heads of the house turned it into their bedroom. Roxas had snidely made a comment about it being much like a honeymoon suite.

They all knew this new house was quite lavish. They had an elevator. Other than when they had been hauling boxes to begin unpacking, it hadn't been used often, but still. An elevator.

And so, being in such a high-quality house, the noise-resistance in regards to the thickness of the walls was quite adequate, not perfectly soundproof of course.

Sora groans in pain across the hall. Roxas can hear him, but only before he throws open his bathroom door to make a quick dash to his toilet. Even though it sucked to be so urgent and have to run first thing in the morning, puke-y-smelling bedroom sucked more. Roxas added another pro to list: not having to fight over a bathroom.

He heaved and heaved stomach bile, last night's dinner already too far digested to make a return trip then. For some reason, his body's reaction to this kind of headache was to throw up and expel what didn't need expulsion. Roxas sighed when the purging no longer took over.

It was back. Almost a month of peace and it was back.

"Roxas. Are you up?"

A knock resonated from the bedroom and the door opened. Roxas considered dropping his head into the toilet of wonder.

Cloud appeared in the doorway. _Here we go again._

"I'm unfit to go to school, but have a good day at work." he said, mock-pleasantly, one hand holding up what his bed-head wouldn't of his bangs. Roxas wasn't in the mood to explain anything to the man and so he gagged for good measure.

* * *

Having been all but kicked out of Sora's room, the brunet having desired to puke in solitude then take a shower, Riku stepped out into the hallway when he heard it.

Being in such a high-quality house, the noise-resistance in regards to the thickness of the walls was quite adequate . . . Riku peered in through Roxas' open door . . . when people bothered to close their doors before commencing with verbal sparring.

When Sephiroth walked down to the second floor with a shocked and concerned glimmer in his eye, Riku had not been surprised. Shouting in their old house _had_ been unheard of.

"They do this a lot." Just one other thing you're going to have to adjust to in this new life.

"Fascinating." Sora's hacking drew the man's attention to the room behind his son. "Is Sora unwell?"

Riku closed the door behind him. "Do you believe in the twin thing?" His father merely looked at him, but Riku never expected answers to such kinds of posed questions. It was unlike his father, and answers would most probably be a 'perhaps' or some other one word response. "It's all sourcing from Roxas, though."

"The question would remain: what exactly _is_ sourcing from Roxas?"

* * *

"When are you going to grow up and start taking your life seriously?"

"What the fuck are you saying?"

"The fact that you're still swearing at me shows how immature you are."

"Well aren't you a fucking hypocrite."

"Roxas."

"Cloud, I'm not going to school."

"Why?" Cloud asked, adamantly.

Roxas, kneeling in front of the toilet seat, smacked the edge of it and fixed the older man with an icy glare. "You really want me to go to school like this? 'Hi, Mister Highwind, would you mind giving me a garbage bag for my internal fluids as I make it through the day? I don't want to make a mess on your floors.' 'Hi, Miss Maleficent, don't mind me if I pass out from dehydration in your halls. I promise to do it off to the side as to not interfere with your trolling the halls.' You _REALLY_ want me to leave this house like this?"

Cloud inhaled deeply, wiling his son's attitude to roll off his shoulder. "Roxas, why are you really not going to school?" Roxas squinted. "If you keep telling yourself that you're sick, your body is going to act sick. Now tell me why you actually don't want to go to school."

"You think I'm _acting _sick? Are you fucking serious?" He rubbed his palm furiously at his head. "You think I want this? You think I don't feel guilty for affecting Sora with my little 'act'?" He scoffed. "If I wanted to act, I wouldn't drag other people into whatever I'm deluding myself with."

They looked at each other.

"Whatever. You don't get me. Just leave me alone. I'm not going anywhere."

"Roxas—"

"Holy shit…Get off my back!" he snapped. "Go downstairs and live your newly-fucking-married life with your new fucking husband in this new fucking house and leave me the hell alone!"

"I want to help you. I don't want-." What Cloud wanted to say was: _I need you to take school seriously. You fuck up now and you'll regret it. You won't be a kid forever. Because you are growing up. I don't want to see you like this._ Roxas just stared at the lifted toilet seat, shaking his head.

Cloud sighed. They'd need to get over this communication problem one day. It was obviously not this day. He turned away. "Call me when you need a father-figure."

"I wouldn't be calling _you.._."

* * *

_**Your Humble Servant**_  
_**xDelfin**_


	52. XXXXXII' Back to One: Cloud & Sephiroth

_**52.**_

Cloud made his way down the stairs, the words spoken under his son's breath, pounding dully into his mind.

"_I wouldn't be calling _you…_"_

You.

_You, who may be the biological father, are not the father I recognize. You threw that man out after you broke his heart, took everything from him, and left him with a house that might as well be a tomb of old memories. You're not fit to help anybody so how can you be called a father? You're barely a man._

When Cloud reached the kitchen, Sephiroth was standing at the island, an open newspaper infront of him and two cups of coffee beside that. The blond took a seat at one of the stools across from the silveret. Sounds of loose pages being turned, caffeine being nursed, and the low humming of the refrigerator passed through Cloud, who was lost in numbing thoughts while staring down at his own dark mug.

He'd always harboured some jealousy towards the older man –amplified and mixed with embarrassment now that they shared a household. It was wrong to compare. He knew this. But it was entirely inevitable for the thoughts, cowering at the back of his mind, to come forth at least once in a while. Because of the marital status; because of the fact that it was a homosexual relationship; because it was Sephiroth, comparisons cannot help but be made, and the result left one word in Cloud's mind: _diminutive_. Cloud exhaled the thought as he brought the coffee mug to his lips.

* * *

Sephiroth lifted his gaze from an article about General Motors to his husband, not failing to notice that the soft sigh had not been intended to just cool the coffee he was drinking. The tired, glassy look beneath hooded eyelids was unmistakable.

He'd known of the tension between Cloud and Roxas for quite some time, which had slowly ascertained the relationship of the twins with the Leonhart. He'd known Cloud for many years and had been seeing his for just over a month. (Fast, yes. He was aware.) And in that time, Sephiroth had come to learn many things about the man he decided to spend the rest of his life with. Among them was the tendency for Cloud Strife to sulk.

He was a proud man, had a strong core, and quite a large ego. Cloud was ambitious and had a great sense of purpose. It was Cloud's aura of strength that had first attracted him in the first place. Cloud loved doing things his way and having control. So when along comes a person who just won't have being told what to do, Cloud's great ego becomes greatly hurt. All that strength, all that power, converts to major brooding. In other words: '_when it rains it pours'_.

"How did you do it?"

"Which?" Sephiroth returned.

"Raise four kids, three of them past their teens."

The older man took a beat, regarding his husband apparently asking for the 'secret key of parenting'.

Sephiroth sipped his coffee, briefly wondering about the best and truest way to do this.

"There was a time, when the boys were about four or five, when they all had ear infections. All four of them," Sephiroth stated. "It would start off as though it were a cold. But then they would get a high fever. And when it didn't get better they would be crying all night, not sleeping, barely being able to lie down for more than a few minutes, it was horrible. I don't know where Loz found the endless supply of air to cry. Yazoo kept picking or pulling at his ears and playing with the pus that came out. And about a year later when Kadaj had gotten it, the child actually lost some of his balance for a while –it was very worrisome.

"I believe those were the days the Crescent family had never had so many headaches. If it wasn't because of the infection, it was because of the constant crying. My boys could belt and my ears would be ringing for hours." Sephiroth paused, and the side of his lips quirked into a small, somewhat rueful, smile. "So I told myself one night, when I had finally gotten Kadaj to sleep for at least twenty minutes: 'these children rely on me. Who else will be there for them, if not me?' It's easy to shut the door and let them scream and cry. But I held them for hours and days because as tired and pained as I was, I knew they had it worse. When you're a child, everything feels as though it is indeed the worst." Cloud blinked, a smile of his own forming at the story.

"And then, of course, six years later, Riku went through a similar phase." Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at the memories, sipping his coffee, though still not without the gracefulness of his arm lifting the cup and setting it down. "Ah, but teenagers. Teenagers," he mused. "I heard this saying once, a while ago, that went: 'you're not raising kids, you're raising future adults.' When Loz left for college, there was the most surreal feeling in our house for the longest time. It was then that I did some reflecting, on how I faired as a parent, and I'm sure many others have done this at some point. I thought of the things I did to teach him discipline, the answers I gave when he came to me with questions, the way I shaped his view at life, and what that would mean for him." A long pause followed, and the silence was palpable.

Cloud absently added 'voice' to his mental list of why he was so in awe of the Crescent, at some point during the story. Sephiroth's voice had such musicality to his way of speaking, the man could be talking about manure and the listener would still feel educated and enriched just from standing within earshot. With such a deep, rolling, smooth tone, the silence that follows stands no chance and for some reason it feels like the air has changed. After Sephiroth breathes a sentence, the air, the atmosphere, the world is never the same. And it's so very obvious.

"I can say that not all of the things I did were necessarily correct, but it sums up to a lesson for both the parent and the offspring. If something is not working, you acknowledge it and move on. Eventually, you'll try something else."

Sephiroth downed the last of his coffee and placed the empty cup in the sink. He walked towards Cloud, grasped the man's shoulders and dropped a small kiss to his cheek, before exiting the kitchen to prepare for work.

'_There is no secret key to parenting.'_

* * *

**_No words can describe how happy I am to have updated._**

**_YHS  
__xDelfin_**


End file.
